The Dragon King: The Eye and the Alpha
by Threni
Summary: It has been one year since the events of "The Dragon King" and life on Berk is a good as can be expected. And then one day they receive a message from a mysterious tribe ordering Hiccup to return to them something he swears he never stole. What follows is series of adventures and discoveries that will forever change their lives...and could also destroy them.
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

 **I Own Nothing**

 **All Rights Reserved**

 **Well, here it is: the continuation of my story "The Dragon King," and I advise that anyone who has not read the first part to do so before reading this one.**

 **At the moment updates will be every Saturday, barring the unforeseen. Updates will become more frequent eventually, as the story gets closer to completion.**

 **Feel free to comment and give constructive criticism!**

 **And now, without further ado:**

 **The Dragon King: The Eye and the Alpha**

 **Chapter 1**

 **Who Has the Eye?**

She made her way through the woods. It was a night of complete mystery. The stars were near invisible. She turned at the slightest sound and constantly looked behind her to determine if anyone was following. There was a half moon in the sky but it seemed bereft of its usual tranquil beauty, instead it felt distant, cold, and icy; like a statue of cold marble. In the woods it was often blocked from view by the black trees. Only the smallest lines of deep blue were visible from in between their indistinguishable branches. She made her way down a path and finally came to one of the beaches on the coast. There she could hear the sound of the ocean frothing onto the shore, but could only slightly make out the line of the dark waves. And there, seated on a rock on the border between the beach and the forest sat a figure in clad in black.

She approached the figure and raised a hand. "Blood and gore"

"And none leave poor." The other recited while making the same arm movement, "Well, have you got it?"

"Yes," she gestured to an iron chest tucked under her arm, "and all but one of the lenses."

"Where's the last one?"

"Still hidden. I haven't found the map to it yet."

"All right." The two then went their separate ways, she went back to the woods; he went down the beach with the chest to where a small group of men were waiting.

"We've got it," he said to them, "now into the boat and let's get out of—"

At that instant an arrow hit him in the chest.

The men whipped out their weapons but it was too late for most of them. A volley of arrows sung through the air. A second volley rang out and nobody was left standing on the beach. New figures clad in black emerged from the trees, almost as if they had just come out of thin air. One approached the fallen men, the rest stood at hand to provide cover.

This person took a look at one dead man and kicked his corpse off the iron chest. "Fools and murders, every last one of them. The world's better off without them. Excellent shooting, everyone."

"Is it there, your Highness?" one of them called.

The woman took out an iron key and opened the chest. Inside was a cylindrical device that resembled a telescope. One end was carved to look like a dragon's head. Its opened mouth revealed a large crystal. The center of the device consisted of strange interlocking wheels covered in symbols. Beside it in the box were a number of etched lenses encircled by metal.

"It is all there," She announced after inspecting the contents. Her companions gave sighs of relief and delight. She closed and locked the chest and picked it up. "Let us return."

As they walked she talked briefly with one of them.

"Enjoying your first night out on the job?"

"I didn't really do anything, Highness,"

"There will be plenty to do in the future, do not worry," she turned to another. "Now, is the last map still safe?"

"Yes, my queen!"

"Good. You will meet with me when we have returned to discuss its continued safety."

"Will we recover the last of the lenses?"

"If it can be done safely. I will think on it."

"Majesty, something worries me. How did those trappers manage to steal Eye? How did they even know about the Eye?"

"Spies, most likely. And they are expert thieves, without conscience,"

"You don't think He might have been involved with this?" One of them said nervously.

"Why would He move against us on the side of the hunters? He might promote blasphemy and treat dragons like enslaved pets, but He does not trap and kill them for profit like those men do, as far as we know." The Queen was debating in her head whether or not it was time she met with Him and learned exactly what kind of man he was and what they should do about Him.

Her words had hardly been reassuring but the mention of the word 'spies' had made them all grow silent and more alert to their surroundings.

Once they had reached a clearing, without any warning, a dragon swooped down in the midst of them. A human leapt off its back and, swinging a long pike, knocked the chest from the Queen's hands and into the Dragons mouth, which at once clamped down on it. Without a word the human jumped back onto the dragon and they flew away. The attack could not have lasted 15 seconds. Nobody had even had time to pull out their bows or load them.

For a moment everyone just stood dumbfounded. Then they roared and fired arrows into the sky.

"Do not waste your shots," The Queen snapped, "they're long gone now!"

Everyone eyed her nervously. She took deep breaths to calm herself.

Then one of them piped up. "So He _does_ move against us—but is it for Himself or for others?"

"What was that?" the Queen asked sharply. Several others echoed her.

"I just said He _does_ move against us, Highness,"

"Are you saying—?"

"That was Him, Highness."

"Are you certain?"

"Positive."

"My Queen?" someone asked uncertainly,

"We shall return to camp," She announced firmly.

"And just let them go with the Dragon Eye after we'd just recovered it?" another exclaimed incredulously.

"Do not worry: we shall have it back soon. But we need a new plan now. This new foe is smarter than those Hunters were tonight. We must adjust accordingly."

"Forgive me for asking, my Queen, but what exactly _was_ that?" another asked.

"That," said the one who had said 'he does move against us' "was the Dragon King."

The Queen spoke coldly. "The man who controls dragons. The man who delights in making them His pets and beasts of burden, as a Baron uses a horse. The man who last year destroyed a dragon enslaver and took his place. And He now has the Dragon Eye."

"But I thought the Dragon King rode on a Night Fury!" the least experienced of them exclaimed.

"And He can't change dragons? He's enslaved enough, He could ride a different one each day for several years,"

The Queen nodded. "But if you're right and He has the Dragon Eye now, we shall have it back soon enough. Do not worry."

The Viking Archipelago was dotted with numerous islands. With many of these islands came ports, and with these ports came taverns. These were places for merchants, sailors, thugs, drunks, and travelers to stop at and spend the night or get some sustenance in the form of cheap food and cheaper drink—especially the latter. Yet despite the different cliental, there was one unspoken rule: everybody minds their own business. So when Ingrid, daughter of the Keeper of the _Red Unicorn_ , saw a tall man dressed in black and wearing a mask and scarf enter the place and take a seat in a corner, she thought little of it. After all, if he wanted a place to stay or something to eat and had the money to pay for it, who was she to judge his choice of apparel?

"Evening, stranger," she said when she reached his table, "what'll it be tonight? We have roasted beef, hot potatoes, and a flagon of ale on special!"

"That'll be fine, thank you," he said. His voice was gruff and nasally, but that might have been because the scarf muffled it.

"And we have nice clean beds upstairs—some big enough for two people!" she added with a suggestive smile. Not that she had any intention of sleeping with him. Rather, it was a standard rule in the tavern business to flirt with single male customers to see how they would react.

The man declined to take the bait. "I'm sure that would be wonderful, but I'll just take the food. I've got to be on the move soon."

"A busy life?" she smiled.

"You have no idea,"

At that moment the doors were kicked opened and a man who could only have been a sailor stood in the doorway. "MEAD! I NEED MEAD, MATES! I NEED A DRINK OR ME POOR NERVES'LL FALL TO PIECES! MEAD!"

His order was quickly met and he drained most of the flagon in one gulp. "That's better! Mead's proof that them Gods are lookin' after us, I tell ya, mates!"

"What's gotcha all in a fix, mate?" someone asked.

"Oh, this last voyage, it's jest terrible!" the man moaned, "We caught a dragon! And when ships have dragons on board these days, every minute drags on fer-eva!"

"Why?" a woman asked.

"Ya have to ask?" he cried, "because any ship with a dragon can expect an attack from the DRAGON KING!" he howled these last words as if he was talking about a ghost.

A few years ago his listeners would have laughed and teased him for being a superstitious worrier. But these days they knew it was no laughing matter. Depending on who you talked to, the Dragon King could be either the most remarkable or fearsome man in existence. For most Dragon Hunters he was the most feared—and hated. Dragon hunting was in dire straits these days; so much so that catching a single dragon was now considered a good and lucky day. And to be out at sea and have the King come out of nowhere, partly destroy the ship, and steal the only chance of getting a profit, was a distressing and nerve wrecking experience. The sailor explained that they had been expecting to get attacked day and night, and he declared all the waiting was even worse than getting burned alive.

"At least with burning ya know it'll end soon," he moaned.

Dragon hunting used to be a thriving business. And then, less than a year ago, a large number of Viking tribes reversed their traditions of killing dragons and outlawed hunting them. For the hunters who had made their hunting grounds in the Archipelago, this meant longer voyages to capture and sell dragons, and longer voyages meant more expense and more risk of getting raided.

The man was now joined by some of his shipmates, all eager for some mead too. With them present more people began swapping stories about the Dragon King. These Dragon Hunters were brave men in fights and no strangers to risk and danger but, like many who spent long stretches of time at sea, they were also highly superstitious. On a night like this, where the roaring fire looked more menacing than cozy, when the half moon was faint, and the deep black ocean just a hundred meters away, with the wind occasionally sounding like a ghost's moan, even the more skeptical would have had difficulty in not seeing menacing shapes in the shadows, believing they saw movement in the sky above them, or mistaking creaking timbers for something far more sinister.

"And this is one of the few ports left for a Dragon Hunter to dock in without the authorities getting involved!" The Dragon trade was illegal here, but thanks to some legal loopholes, moored ships containing dragons as cargo were permitted—provided an extra docking fee was paid. "At all the old spots, the Mayors and Governors and Chiefs are saying 'no' to us! An' these places are all gittin' so x-pense-ive! That darn Dragon King, he's ruining our business!"

"Do you think it's true that he destroyed an entire fleet?"

"Did he really kill Drago Bludvist?"

"Is it even a 'He'? I know we call it a 'King,' but who knows what their sex really is?"

"Does he really ride the Offspring of Lightning and Death?"

As mentioned, people of the sea are often highly superstitious. They are also often ill-informed and in the dark about things land lubbers already know about. For instance, most of the Archipelago and, certainly most of the Viking tribes in it knew about the Dragon King. They knew who he really was, what he was really doing, and knew much about what he had done in the past. But the superstitious and ill-informed sailors knew only bits of these things, and what they did not know was easily filled in with rumors and exaggerations. News was not the most reliable when it reached the average person in the year 1071. So the fact that the King and his followers virtually never killed anyone, directly or not, was overlooked by these hunters. After all, there was always a first time, and who was to say they might not be the first victims? Fear has a bad habit of making people think like that.

"I don't think he's that bad," Ingrid remarked to the stranger when she came to take away his plate. She could see he was listening to the stories with interest. "The Dragon King, I mean. I think it's kinda neat, him ruling over dragons and flying around on them,"

"You like dragons?" the man asked.

"I don't know if I _like_ them, but I don't mind them. They're like wolves or whales: I don't see them here, so I neither like nor dislike them," she started laughing, "though of course, if I met one, I'd probably run away or throw something at it,"

"Fair enough,"

"But still, to fly with dragons…" her face took on a dreamy expression, "that sounds amazing. Certainly better than being forced to clean tables every day and being nice to all the idiots who comes in here when I'd rather strangle them,"

"I'll pretend I didn't hear that," her customer said dryly.

"Oh I didn't mean _you_ , sir. You've behaved yourself perfectly! I was talking about men like—" at that moment one man drunkenly shouted he wanted to do a striptease for the Pope of Lisbon. Then he spilled his mug on his table and pants. Ingrid groaned and picked up a towel. "—like _that_ ,"

"I see your point,"

The mead might have helped the Dragon Hunters calm their nerves, but the talk about the Dragon King soon led to ghost stories, and it was a very brave man who left the tavern alone while this was going on. Most of them left in small groups.

At length, the man in the corner stood up, left some coins, and went over to the Dragon Hunters, who were also preparing to head out. "Say, mates, I heard you've got a dragon on your ship? Would you like an extra set of hands keeping it secure?"

They eyed the man suspiciously. "Ya don't look much like a Dragon Hunter," one with a rat-like face said, "Yer too thin,"

"Maybe, but I'm superb with locks and restraints. No dragon's ever escaped from one of _my_ contraptions,"

"Why the mask?" another demanded.

"A Dragon burned most of my face off years ago," he said, "but I can still fight."

"What 'appened to yer leg?" another asked, for a metal prosthetic was where his lower left leg should have been. It was a more complicated prosthetic than any of them had ever seen.

"A dragon fight," he replied simply, "I made the peg myself,"

As the decision was up to their captain, they let him accompany them back to their ship, after he left and collected his things. Their captain was as superstitious as the next man and anxious to get going. They had only stopped to take on provisions and get a quick rest in a presumably safe place. But people often times will excuse their own faults while also grow impatient when someone else exhibits the same problem. So when he saw his crew approaching and looking nervous he shouted contemptuously "Come on, now, hurry up! Lookit ya lot! We've finely caught a dragon and yer all skeered! Now shape up and look sharp, ya bunch-a-fools, coz we're gittin' this beast ta port and no stewpid Dragon Wizard King is gonna stop us! Why we're—who's this?"

"New recruit, sir. Claims to be great with locks,"

"A locksmith, ehh? What's yer name?"

"Nacht the Furious," The man replied, "and I come cheap: ten silver pieces when we arrive and I'll wave my share of the profit."

This was enough to convince the captain to sign him on. Having an extra person meant smaller shares for everyone, so finding one willing to wave their share was a welcome gesture. The captain agreed quickly and then shouted at his crew to get the ship ready.

It was a very dark night; so dark that had any of them chanced to look out into the harbor, they would probably not have seen what appeared to be a slightly domed black rock, which had not been there a minute ago. Nor would they have seen it a minute later, for it slipped back underwater.

Nacht the Furious went down to inspect the cargo, accompanied by two others. The dragon chained up was a Gronkle, which was a good prize, given the difficulties in catching dragons these days. Now the question was how long it would stay caught. They could, of course, simply kill it, but dragons had a tendency to decompose quickly. Not only would that reduce what they could sell, and these days every piece counted, but the ship would start to stink horribly. Whenever possible, hunters avoided killing dragons until the last minute.

Nacht took one look at the Gronkle's chains and groaned. "No, no, no, that's not how you do it!"

"Do what?" one of the Hunters asked.

"You don't put lock the chain like this, you—oh for crying out loud, who did this? It's a miracle the thing hasn't freed itself yet!" he went right up to the chains and started tinkering with them.

"Should you really be doing that?"

"Well somebody's got to do it or we're not getting any richer!" He quietly made some growling noises, which the other hunters decided were curses.

Suddenly the ship listed so badly it nearly threw them all against the wall. Shouts were heard from the deck, and the two Hunters rushed up to see what was going on. Nacht stayed put, still tinkering with the chains.

A dragon had climbed up the side of the ship and was sitting on the railing. It was completely black except for two green eyes that pierced through the darkness like possessed lanterns. Its large bat-like wings were spread and its sharp teeth were bared, giving it a ferocious appearance. It let out a loud, high pitched scream rang through the air and sent shivers up and down every spine. One man nearly jumped overboard as he shrieked "NIGHT FURY!" There was only one known Night Fury in the region and the Dragon King rode it.

The Captain roared "SHUT IT AN' GIT THEM SPEARS YA BUNCH-A—" They never found out what they were a bunch of, for the ship lurched again and the Gronkle answered the Night Fury's call. Suddenly the Captain put two and two together, rushed over to the cargo hold, and slammed the grate shut.

"GOTCHA, DRAGON KING!" he shouted gleefully, "Thought ya could fool _me_ , did ya? Well, now we've got an even bigger prize! Muzzle that dragon!"

That was easier said than done. The Night Fury, which so far had been content to just sit where it was, now leapt onto the deck, swung its tail in all directions, and spat plasma at anyone who tried to get close. But it did not take off, nor did it try to destroy the ship. It was as if it was just playing with them. And the Captain would not be played with.

"GIT THE NETS!" he roared, "An' what's that noise?" Over the shouts of the hunters and the dragon he could faintly make out what sounded like wood being broken.

"Sir, is it just me or are we listing?" someone yelled back. The ship did seem to be tilting to the starboard side more than it ought, in spite of the fact that there was a full grown dragon on the port side.

The Captain was about to respond when something else caught his attention. The Gronkle was hovering above the starboard side of the ship and the Dragon King was sitting on it. In his hand was a sword made of fire, which illuminated him demonically.

"Sorry about the leak, but you can fix it if you've got the tools!" the King, formally known as Nacht the Furious, called to them. Then he yelled an imitation of a Night Fury's cry. The black dragon leapt off the boat and into the air, while the King leapt off the Gronkle and landed perfectly on the first dragon's back.

Before they flew away the King saw a crowd had gathered at the docks, probably attracted by the noise. He spotted Ingrid and waved. She watched, first stunned and then delighted, as he and the two dragons vanished into the night sky.

The Captain rounded on his men as the ship developed an uglier list. "YA STEWPID FOOLS! DIDN'T YA DISARM 'IM BEFORE LOCKIN' 'IM UP? QUICK! GIT THE 'AMMERS AN' THEM PLANKS! AND GIT THEM BUCK-ITS!"

In one of the very eastern corners of the Archipelago there stood a tall, dark, and remote castle. One of many built on the fjords overlooking the strategic coastlines of Scandinavia. And in one of the castle's rooms Eret Son of Eret, the once self proclaimed greatest dragon hunter in existence, watched as fellow Dragon Hunter Ryker threw a fit. He threw a flagon at the man who brought them the news, whipped out his sword and began slashing at a table; mutilating the chicken and bread he had been eating moments before.

"Foiled again!" Ryker shouted, "Lost 10 men and we don't have anything to show for it! When my brother hears about this—"

"Yes, we know what will happen, it's been happening a lot recently," Eret snapped, "Especially after the Snow Wraith that escaped last month. Everything's been going wrong these days! Why should today be any different?"

"What're we gonna do about it? We try to steal this Dragon Eye thing because Viggo tells us to and what happens? It gets stolen from right under our noses! And then to top it off we hear someone caught the Dragon King and he escaped! Viggo will have us flayed alive for this!" he threw himself into his chair and shouted at the messenger to get out and bring him some more ale.

"The Dragon King, the Dragon King, all we ever heard about is the Dragon King." Ryker grumbled, "First he starts interfering with Drago Bludvist, then he makes nearly the whole Archipelago unsafe for our trappers, brings our trade to a near halt, costs us fortunes in repairs, and now this!" he threw his hands up in exasperation.

"Have you ever considered maybe we should cut our losses and find a different occupation?" Eret suggested.

"And admit defeat? Let it be known that some kid who was once called 'Useless' has beaten us?"

"Pride comes before the fall."

"And the world does not tolerate weakness and failure!" Ryker retorted,

"Bludvist thought like that and he's dead now. The stories say he was torn to pieces. Is that the fate you want, Ryker?"

Ryker stood up. "Are you threatening me, Eret Son of Eret?" Both men were tall and muscular, so neither was really intimidated by the other.

"Not at all. I'm merely saying that there comes a time to admit defeat before things get even worse. And I don't see how they can get better now. Dragon Riders are all over the place, stealing all the dragons we catch, wrecking our ships and equipment, and even when we do catch a dragon where can we sell it? All the tribes we used to sell goods to are gone or against us now. Face the facts! The Outcasts were virtually destroyed in the war last year, the Hysterics have changed sides ever since Norbert's death, the Murderous Tribe doesn't want to risk a confrontation now that it's in the minority, Dagur was banished by his own tribe, and then there are the other tribes. The Owl Guts, the Meatheads, the Hairy Hooligans, the Bog Burglars, and all the rest of them, they haven't been safe for us since the last war. Good grief, Ryker, isn't it about time to call it quits?"

"Maybe if we raised an army," Ryker mused, "went to open warfare for trade purposes…"

"That's what Drago tried and look where that got him. And where would you get an army from? William of England's got his own rebellions to deal with, it's the same in Flanders, France hardly has any strength these days, and I happen to know the King of Denmark is friends with the Dragon King and has his own dragons for bodyguards."

Ryker starred into the fire for a while. "My brother will know what to do." He said at last. "He told me our luck would change if we got a hold of the Dragon Eye. We can still do it."

"Who stole the Eye, anyhow?"

"From what I've heard, the Defenders think it was the Dragon King. It might be true. I don't know." He snapped his fingers. "But if it's true, maybe we can find a way to make him give it to us! Maybe our spy can get it from him. We'll hold somebody hostage or something!"

"He'll be expecting that. From what _I've_ heard, Drago had him captured _twice_ and both times he escaped and destroyed a good chunk of where he was imprisoned."

"Every man has his price," Ryker went on, "we just need to offer him what he wants…"

"We all know what he wants: the dragon hunting business ruined. And he's doing a pretty good job of achieving this."

"So what's his weakness? Every man has a weakness. If we could exploit it…"

"His weakness is the fact that he cares about dragons—we were already exploiting that and as a result he's ruined our livelihood!"

"How about a woman? Our spy in the Defender's camp is pretty attractive—or we could hire some prostitute—if we had some lovely girl pose as a shipwrecked maiden, maybe she could seduce him and—"

"Do you really think he's going to fall for that? Especially when our sources have it he's already in love with someone else?"

"Then if we captured her—"

"We tried to three months ago, remember? Didn't you hear about that? The men were found with black eyes, burns, broken noses, and teeth missing—and tied to tree branches 4 meters up! By the sound of it, you'd need an army just to capture _her_!"

"You're quite the pessimist, aren't you?" Ryker growled.

"I'm telling you the truth as I see it. I think Dragon Hunting is over in these parts. Maybe we should all just find a new occupation. That's the only solution I can think of. I mean we could head south and try somewhere else, but there's no guarantee we'll have any better luck." Although officially the majority of Europe was Christian and proclaimed dragons as evil, unofficially small towns and villages were a mixture of Christian beliefs mixed with pagan beliefs, and they hated or worshiped dragons according to preference and tradition. As for the rest of the known world, most places seemed to worship dragons or at the very least tolerate them, which was bad news for any dragon hunter.

"Viggo will think of something," Ryker repeated.

"Ryker, Drago went up against the King and got slaughtered! And he's gotten a lot stronger since then! More dragons, more allies—"

"Viggo is much smarter than Drago. Without Viggo Drago wouldn't have had a chance in the first place! Who got Drago's fancy iron ship built _undetected_? It was Viggo's doing! Built a massive iron ship and nobody knew about it until the last minute!"

"You mean the ship the King destroyed the first time it was used in battle?"

"That wasn't Viggo's fault! Look, Eret, I know we've fallen on some hard times, but my brother will get us through them. He always has. All we need is the Dragon Eye. So how are we going to get it?"

"I'm sure _Viggo_ can figure out a way," Eret replied dryly.

"Good point. Let him worry about the planning. We'll just follow his instructions."

"And hope nobody messes up this time? That reminds me, somebody still has to tell him the news."

Ryker suddenly looked nervous. He looked as though _he_ was the one who needed reassuring now instead of Eret.

There was a knock on the door. A woman entered, followed by a man. "My master wants to see you, Ryker,"

"I told you to address me with the respect I deserve, you wench!" Ryker growled but she had already left. "Why does Viggo put up with these insubordinate servants?"

"He likes breaking them in," Eret replied, "rather like Drago."

The man who had entered was the same height as Ryker, though considerably leaner, and had a pale face and black hair. Ryker looked at him and said "Are ya ill or something, Draccus?"

"I'm just fine, Ryker. Our brother wants to see you, you know. Best not keep him waiting,"

Ryker drew himself up made for the door, but then abruptly turned around. "Do either of you have any good news I could give him to soften the blow?" he asked anxiously.

"Not at all,"

Ryker visibly paled before he left the room.

"So, bad news for Viggo," Draccus said carefully, "another failure. Pity. A great pity indeed. Perhaps his leadership is not as great as he makes it out to be."

"What are you implying?" Eret asked sharply.

"Just that sometimes men are unequal to the crisis before them,"

"Could you do any better?" Eret retorted.

"Perhaps. I've heard you're dissatisfied with things, Eret. So am I. I am very dissatisfied with the way things are. Perhaps we could—" But Eret left the room before he could say anything else.

"No matter," Draccus said quietly, "he's just being cautious. He'll come over in time, once Viggo fails again. I pray to Loki he does just that." He shook his head. "My poor first brother believes that my poor second brother is our only hope for salvation. Hmph. And what room is there for the third brother? Hopefully there will be plenty soon! Perhaps this Dragon King can help me out a bit."


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

 **This is Berk**

It was yet another morning in the life of Astrid Hofferson. Flying around and making certain the defenses were all in place and functioning, patrolling the waters around the island of Berk, making certain nothing out of the ordinary was happening; this was a routine she performed every morning and sometimes more frequently. She loved the opportunity to go out for a flight and she also loved the chance to inspect the coastal defenses. She found she slept better at night in doing so. It had been nearly a year since the great battle with Drago Bludvist and his unsavory allies Alvin the Treacherous and Dagur the Deranged. For Astrid it had been the battle of a lifetime and she wanted it to stay that way. She was not going to let anyone catch Berk off guard if she could help it, and she patrolled with a fiery passion.

Having a dragon helped immensely. Her dragon was a blue and yellow Deadly Nadder named Stormfly and Astrid knew of no better dragon to fly on. They had become a fierce team in combat and they both enjoyed flying a great deal. They also both understood the need for patrolling, and they both had sharp eyes that could easily spot anything in the water.

And like most days, there was nothing to be seen. It was just blue skies and blue water, both undisturbed and devoid of the presence of humans. The day was promising to be a nice one in terms of the weather. Above and below the two of them seagulls glided through the clouds or gathered on the imposing sea stacks. The sun was shining brightly, the clouds were white, and already the temperature felt comfortably warm. It was the kind of weather where a person could go sailing and take a nap out on their boat, in the middle of a calm light blue sea, and just forget about every problem.

Speaking of boats, as they completed their arch and turned around they flew over a small group of fishing boats. Even though she was used to the sight, Astrid still was delighted by it. From up in the air the boats looked like toys. Dragons were flying around with large nets in their claws. They would fly low, dragging their nets through the water, then pull up and drop their catches of fish onto the boats. But the fishermen were not letting the dragons do all the work: they were using their own nets in the same manner as they had for centuries. For them the sight of a Nadder flying overhead was nothing new and most paid it no mind. Every now and then someone would look up and notice Astrid and give a pleasant wave or call out a casual greeting which she could only faintly hear.

And now they had reached Berk itself. Dragons were everywhere. They carried materials to construction sites, or to the farm areas. They helped herd the very uneasy sheep. She saw children playing with them. She saw adults riding them as if it was the most natural thing in the world.

The homes were tall, sturdy, and most looked as good as new, because most of them were. Many of them were brightly painted in lovely shades of green and yellow and red. There were a handful of buildings here and there that were still works in progress, and they could see both Vikings and Dragons building them. On one house a few Nadders were hovering in the air while lowering large planks for the Vikings to add to the unfinished roof.

Astrid could not help but smile at the sight. Dragons without a doubt were integrated on Berk. And to think, only a year ago nobody on Berk would ever have wanted anything to do with dragons apart from killing them.

As soon as she landed she was greeted by her friend Fishlegs Ingerman running towards her shouting

"AstridhaveyouseenSnotlout?Mildew'sonthehuntagain!He'sshouting forhimtogetthosenailsoutofhis—"

"Hold up there a minute, Fish, _what's_ going on? Speak slower!" Astrid laughed as they moved towards her house.

Fishlegs took a deep breath. "I was _saying_ have you seen Snotlout? Mildew's on the hunt again!"

"What's he done _this_ time?"

"Well, it was Tuffnut's idea—Snotlout decided to see how long it took for a newly sheered sheep to catch fire, so he stole Mildew's sheep Fungus—" There was a loud scream from somewhere in the village "—and evidently Hookfang misunderstood him," he said as Snotlout came sprinting towards the house, the seat of his trousers on fire.

"ASTRID, SAVE ME SAVE ME!" He leapt onto a spot that had an 'X' shaped piece of metal imbedded in the ground.

Casually, Astrid stepped outside and pulled the rope connected to the roof. On the roof was a carving of a Nadder head. The rope pulled the mouth downwards and a flow of water spilled out right onto Snotlout.

"Thanks," he sighed with relief. People nearby who were watching laughed and went back to their daily chores.

"Maybe you should reconsider letting Hiccup build one of these on your own house,"

"But then I wouldn't be able to come to _your_ house, Babe," he grinned. He promptly walked away, seemingly none the worse for wear.

"You know, most people only need to have their pants catch fire once in their lifetime before they learn; with Snotlout it happens several times a week and he still thinks he's fireproof," Fishlegs commented.

"Well it doesn't seem to hurt him at least," Astrid fiddled with the rope, "I keep telling Hiccup a bucket full of rocks in this would make him learn,"

"Astrid!" her mother Greta Hofferson emerged from the house to see what all the noise was about. "You're back!"

"I was only gone for a few hours mom,"

"And I can't be happy to see my only daughter?" Greta laughed, "And by the way, _I_ keep telling _you_ that I do not want this house turned into a fortress!"

"And Hiccup keeps conceding to your orders because he's scared of offending you,"

"He knows what's good for him," Greta replied.

Astrid made her way to the home of Stoick the Vast, the Chief of Berk. His house had gone through major remodeling. It used to be dirty, untidy, and a largely uncomfortable place to be in. Now, largely thanks to his son's return, it was a comfortable, welcoming, and relatively clean place; a nice place for anyone to go if they wanted to speak with their Chief. Stoick had made an effort to keep it clean now that he had someone else to share it with. And then there was the recent addition of Hiccup's room, which stuck out of the rest of the building very conspicuously. Hiccup's old room had grown so filthy and rotten during his long absence, so after the war with Drago, Hiccup had literally had the room removed from the house and built a larger one more to his own liking.

It looked as though a room had been included on the second floor but the room that was supposed to go below it had never been built. Where the rest of the house was painted with warm greens and browns the outside walls of Hiccup's room were red and black. Several propellers and weather vanes were attached to the top. There was a chimney in addition to several pipes sticking out of the walls. There were ropes with buckets tied to them and all kinds of wheels and pulleys and contraptions nobody but Hiccup really understood. And though nobody could see it at the moment, one of the walls could be lowered like a drawbridge so Hiccup's dragon Toothless could get in.

Astrid still felt a bit intimidated by Stoick the Vast. He was a very large, muscular man and stood nearly seven feet tall. It had been a hard year for him and his beard had considerably more gray wisps in it, but he was still a tough man with a strong grip on both his hammer and his mind and he was as dignified and friendly as he had ever been.

"Astrid, lass, good ta see you! What news do you have today?"

"Nothing, as usual,"

"Well that's better than bad news. Is it true Mildew's screaming murder at Snotlout again? Or is it the Twins this time?"

"It's Snotlout, Chief. He stole Fungus,"

Stoick groaned. "I don't know which of them is worse to deal with! And I suppose Hiccup is nowhere to be found?"

"He always gets back from his trips when it's dark, Chief. He and Toothless like flying at sunset."

"Yes, yes, I know. They wake up me with that drawbridge wall of his sometimes. I just feel a bit more at ease when he's here and not at the mercy of anyone who might want to hurt him."

"Chief, I know it's not really my place to say it, but you know he can take care of himself—for the most part,"

Stoick smiled. "Right as usual, lass. 'For the most part'. I know I worry too much, but I don't want him getting hurt. Or you for that matter. After what happened a few months ago—"

She waved a hand dismissively. "Bah. A few hunters with muscles and nothing else. They were nothing. And Drago's dead, Alvin was executed on your orders, and Dagur was banished from his tribe the moment we released him to them. Who else is out there that poses a real threat to Berk?"

"Well, those Dragon Hunters that attacked you guys could pose a threat. Hiccup told me he's been ruining their line of business for years now, since it hurt Drago, and these days the ruining has increased. Someday someone might take extreme measures." He sat down. "One never knows, lass. Sometimes friends turn into enemies and sometimes enemies are waiting in the wings for the right moment. It's a big world, and we've gotta look out for ourselves and our island." He looked at the wall for a moment. "So, Lass, how's your mother?"

"Doing all right, thank you sir,"

"I heard someone mention she was thinking of remarrying, is that true?"

"Not that I know of," Astrid said flatly.

"It must have been someone else then. I think my mind's starting to forget things, you know that?" Astrid knew he was exaggerating and that he was really implying it was time for him to step down and make Hiccup Chief.

"I don't think my mom will ever remarry,"

Stoick nodded and said gently, "I know she and Olaf were very close."

"Yeah," Astrid said quietly. She did not want to talk about her dead father right now.

"It was the same with me and Valka, you know. There was only one woman I've ever had eyes for and when she was gone no woman ever interested me again." he said hoping to lighten the mood, "And I reckon there's only one woman who my son has any eyes for!" he added with a twinkle in his eyes. Astrid went red and quickly announced she had to go attend to Stormfly.

"Kids," Stoick laughed after she had left, "they may be all over 20, but they're still children at heart. Ah, Val, I hope wherever you are you can see Hiccup now. You'd be so proud of him, just as I am. It won't be long before he's Chief now. Of course, he doesn't _want_ to be Chief, but I'll take him under my wing and help him get adjusted to it, just like how he's helped Berk adjust to having dragons living with us," He heard a loud noise behind his house, "Sounds like Skullcrsuher's brought home a new log to play with. Beard of Thor, how does he manage to carry those things in his mouth without breaking all his teeth? One day _he'll_ be the toothless one!" He laughed and went outside to see what his Rumblehorn was up to.

The dragons had helped immensely during the long winter, breaking up the ice in spots so fishing could be done and often going fishing themselves, as well as keeping the Vikings warm whenever there were shortages of firewood.

The dragons had also helped with rebuilding. Timberjacks could cut down trees more easily and Gronkles could drag the timber to the building sites, leaving the humans free to put the materials together. Dragon dung was good fertilizer as well, though for the most part dragons had little to do with farming. They were also useful livestock herders—and child watchers too. So the humans found their labors lightened, allowing them time to focus on other matters, including families and improving their lives and the community. As for the dragons, they got a place to live, a place with food, and people to be friends with.

Of course, life on Berk was not perfect. There were a handful of people, especially the cankerous old Mildew who still was convinced that dragons were a menace to everything it meant to be a Viking. But few paid attention to him and for every attempt he made to get the dragons banished Ruffnut and Tuffnut Thorsten paid him back with humiliating pranks. Other problems included the occasional dragon that went for the livestock it were supposed to be watching, got into the stores, or set a house on fire. People got burned frequently as well, with Snotlout holding the Official Village Record, a title Tuffnut Thorsten was determined to take from him one day. One of the first things dealt with when the integration began was to have an improved fire fighting system. There were also frequently flying accidents. It was a rule that a child under 10 could not fly on a dragon without adult supervision but that rule was not always followed, with predictable results.

So it was not perfect. But such problems were largely accepted, as a sailor accepts the risk of storms and violent waves when living at sea, and Berk had taken long strides to correct these problems. And most of this had been done under the supervision of Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III. Berk, however, was not the only island to go through this transformation. Other tribes like the Bog Burglars and Owl Guts, and more recently the Meat Heads, had made the change as well, and since Hiccup was the most knowledgeable authority on dragons around, he spent one week each month flying to the other islands to check up on them. Ten months ago it had been much more frequently, but now, much like Berk, the other Tribes were growing adept at handling dragons and the problems had grown less frequent and more trivial, rather to his relief, for he had found it annoying to juggle the troubles of so many tribes.

While Stoick naturally approved of Hiccup going around to help diplomatic ties, nobody really was happy about his absences, especially Astrid. Stoick refused to let her go with Hiccup, as he was reluctant to risk anything happening to both of his best Riders and Heirs. He was especially firm about this after the failed attack on Astrid several months ago. They had both protested this, pointing out that Hiccup would be safer if someone went with him. Stoick agreed, but nobody seemed fit to go with him. Snotlout and the Twins were out of the question, for they were all unreliable when it came to diplomacy. Hiccup would have liked to take Fishlegs along, but his dragon Meatlug was not well suited to long journeys and got tired easily. So while Fishlegs began taking steps to help Meatlug improve her stamina, it became a fact that Hiccup would make these trips with nobody but his best friend Toothless.

That evening Astrid and Greta Hofferson made their way to Mead Hall for dinner.

"I could eat a boar," Astrid commented.

"You want to eat Snotlout?"

"Mom!" Astrid laughed.

The hall was nearly empty; just a handful of Vikings having a late dinner or chatting with friends over a mug of mead, and here and there a dragon slumbered. A few tiny Fireworms kept the fire going, filling the hall with a warm and cozy glow. Astrid's gaze drifted over to a corner of the hall and then she suddenly forgot about food.

"They must have gotten back early this time," she said. She saw a man slouched against a moderate sized black dragon, both of them fast asleep. She wanted to go over to them but felt they should get some sleep and she should get some dinner first.

Finally Astrid strolled over to Hiccup and Toothless, for that was who the sleeping ones were, and prodded Hiccup gently. After a few minutes he slowly opened his eyes.

"Good evening, Milady,"

She slapped him in the shoulder.

"OW!" His shout jolted Toothless awake with a loud screech. "What was that for?"

"For not coming to see me as soon as you got back," she said with a sweet smile. She pulled him to his feet as Toothless shook himself. "How was the trip?"

"About the same as it always is. Even Camicazi trying to steal my stuff is starting to get old! Ran into a trapper ship. They tried to trap me but didn't disarm me, so I cut a hole in the ship below the water line! How's it been here?"

"Oh fine, just the usual ruckus and tranquility—oh and I found my ring!"

"Oh good," his hand slid into a pocket and he smiled.

"Yeah, I don't know what happened. When I woke up the day you left it was right on top of my jewelry box. I don't get it,"

"Hmm. Maybe a Smothering Smokebreath had snatched it."

"Well I hope they'll never do it again. My father gave it to me as a Snoggletog gift!" Olaf Hofferson had been killed by Drago Bludvist and anything he had given to Astrid was valued deeply by her.

Hiccup went to join her and her mother. "Good evening Mrs. Hofferson,"

"Hiccup,"

"So, usual ruckus huh? I'm guessing that means that the Twins and Mildew have been at it again," He glanced at the doors, "And right on cue—"

"There ya are!" a tall cankerous old man who looked like he should have died twenty years ago had stormed into the hall and walked straight over to them. In one hand he clutched a Terrible Terror, a dragon about the size of a weasel, by the throat. "Ah wanna word wid ya!"

The Night Fury growled at the man and he took a step backwards.

"And what can we do for you today, Mildew?" Hiccup asked dully, "Did the Twins walk barefoot over your cabbages again?"

"NO! First yer cousin steals me sheep Fungus, then them dragons 'ave been sneakin' inta me house and stealin' me food!"

"Oh really?"

"Stealin' me food, the means of me survival! Ah demand justice!"

Hiccup took the Terror from Mildew's hand and petted him soothingly. " **Is this true**?"

" **No**!" The Terror gasped,

"Stop it!" Mildew snapped, "Ah don't like it when ya use that devil language 'round me!"

"Well I can't help it if they don't speak Norse! Would you use French to talk with people who can only speak Latin?"

"Beside the pint! Them dragons 'ave been stealin' me food! Ah demand punishment!"

Hiccup looked at the Terror and once again asked " **Is this true**?"

The Terror tried to puff its chest out and look dignified, " **Certainly not, Sir! I'm not that desperately hungry**!"

" **So how did he catch you**?"

" **With a snare and some fish out in the woods! It was a nice tender piece of cod too** ," The dragon sniffed sadly.

"Mildew, you're trying to frame the dragons again, aren't you?"

"No!"

"He says you set a snare in the woods for him."

"Them dragons 'ave been eatin' me food!"

"Well you don't look any thinner," Hiccup replied dryly, "look, Mildew, I'll look into this and if you're telling the truth I'll put an end to it, all right? But if you're just telling lies _again_ I'm going to take some of your food myself as a punishment."

"Ah might've guessed ya'd believe the demon rat before ya ever believed me!" Mildew growled, "Ah should've gone ta Stoick!"

"By all means go to him if you think it'll do any good. But Mildew, if I were you, I'd save myself the trouble and try to get used to the fact that dragons are here to say. You might find it less painful than you think."

Mildew looked like he wanted to attack Hiccup but the sight of the angry Night Fury made him reconsider. "Ya turned things around once, they can be turned back!" he shouted as he stormed out. Hiccup looked completely unfazed by what had happened as he turned back to the Hoffersons.

"All in a day's work," he grumbled.

Greta chuckled, "Berk won't be the same when he dies,"

"Well, we've still got a few decades left," Astrid said. She patted Toothless on the head. "You make a good bodyguard, you know,"

" **I wish you'd let me take him flying so he'd have a heart attack** ," the Night Fury said.

"How's the dragonese coming?" Hiccup asked,

"Oh, all right," Astrid said as if it was not a big deal.

"Well, let's have a little practice! Say something to Toothless and try to understand his response,"

"All right. **Toothless, he thinks you're…cute** ,"

" **Well I should hope so**!"

Astrid repeated this to Hiccup, who gave her a look that said 'I am not amused'. "Good. Now translate 'Oedipus Rex'."

Astrid punched him in the shoulder again.

As he groaned Hiccup turned to Toothless, " **Hey, I thought you were supposed to be my bodyguard**!"

" **Oh am I**?" Toothless asked absentmindedly before giving Astrid a big lick on the face.

"Gah!"

" **Toothless! You** _ **know**_ **that** —"

" **Doesn't wash out** ," Toothless replied. He hopped forward and licked Hiccup.

"One of these days I'm going to invent some clothes that it does wash out from!" Hiccup threatened in Norse so everyone could understand him.

" **Ha!** "

Now the doors opened again and more people entered, namely Snotlout, Fishlegs, and the Thorsten Twins. They rushed over to the table and began bombarding Hiccup with questions. How was his trip, what did he think of blowing up Mildew's house, did he want to see Hookfang's new trick, and among other things, did he think red cabbages exploded better than green cabbages? Astrid got bombarded with questions too, mostly from Snotlout, such as when would she give in to his charms and when would she move in with him. Neither Hiccup nor Greta found this last amusing. Astrid knew enough to just ignore it. They brought their dragons too, Hookfang, Meatlug, and Barf n' Belch. The dragons began snapping at each other's tails; a reflex game of theirs.

"Well I'm hungry!" Snotlout shouted suddenly, making everyone jump as he banged his fist on the table, "Let's have some food and mead and music! I know the perfect song, wanna hear it?"

Despite everyone else frantically shaking their heads he said "My pleasure! Ahem…" In a voice that sounded musical only to his own ears he began to 'sing':

" _With a bad fever I am stricken_

 _Oh how my heartbeats quicken_

 _My waistline badly needs to thicken_

 _The only cure for me is roasted_..."

At that instant Tuffnut attacked him with a wooden ladle.

"Augh! Tuff, stop it! I'm trying to sing!"

" _I_ know what you were about to say! You oughta be ashamed of yourself for even thinking such a horrible thing!" They wrestled around on the floor. Ruffnut decided to join in and kicked both boys in the head. "Ow! The Chicken will not be amused! The Chicken will not be amused!"

"Maybe not, but _I_ will be!" Ruffnut yelled at her brother.

The noise attracted more Vikings into the hall and the next thing anyone knew a party appeared to be going on. It was a common occurrence, actually. People just showed up in the evenings to Mead Hall, brought some food or drink, started chats with friends, or sang a few songs, among other things. It was the social hour after a hard day's work. And with the Vikings came the dragons. There were Gronkles, Nightmares, Nadders, Timberjacks, Terrors, Smokebreaths, and a dozen other species. How they managed to fit everyone in here was a bit of a wonder. In fact, to save space, the Vikings opened the windows and the larger dragons simply stuck their heads inside.

Songs broke out from random corners of the Hall. They were mostly drinking songs or battle epics which everybody knew by heart.

At one point, Mildew showed up and started singing in his grating old voice:

" _On Berk only one thing counts_

 _Dragon heads and legs on mounts_

 _But because they don't come that way_ —"

He got no further in his song before the booing drowned him out, and he left the Hall in a huff after Snotlout threw a cabbage at him.

Nearby they could hear some of the older Vikings deep in discussion "Do you think this time Hiccup will lose?"

"Only to Astrid!"

"Aye, no other Rider has a dragon fast enough,"

"I'll wager he'll let her win this time,"

"How much?"

"So Hiccup," Tuffnut said in reaction to what he heard, "are you ready to lose the upcoming race?"

"Are you?" Hiccup grinned.

"Sure am! It's gonna be a tricky one this time—Stoick's agreed to station dragons around the flight path to breathe fire at timed intervals!"

"How'd you get him to go along with that?"

"We hinted that we might get caught in a blast and burnt to a crisp. Then his problems with us would be over!" Ruffnut said triumphantly.

"And they pointed out it was less dangerous than dragon training had been, since in this case the dragons won't actually try to kill us," Fishlegs added, "it was such a compelling argument by their standards that the Chief felt inclined to agree,"

Dragon Racing was conceived as a replacement for the dragon fights in the Arena that the Berkians used to have. It was also conceived as a way to boost morale after the battle with Drago, and a creative and competitive outlet for those riding dragons, especially for Hiccup, who had designed the original race course. Each race was different, but it was generally an obstacle course along a set route while catching sheep for points. And it had become the most popular form of entertainment anyone on Berk could think of. The races were held every two weeks, though only five dragons could compete at a time. The upcoming race would be the first time since the first one that Berk's original Dragon Riders would compete.

"Just wait; it'll be the most amazing race anyone's ever seen!" Fishlegs jumped about excitedly, "Meatlug and I are gonna get second place no question!" Since Hiccup had the fastest dragon and was the most experienced rider, people tended to take it for granted that he would get first. When he raced the real contest became who would get second place; though that did not stop anyone from desiring first.

Astrid smiled slyly, "Hiccup, I think this time you're going to be in for a big shock,"

"Oh, you plan to get first this time, do you?" Hiccup grinned,

"Yes I do!"

" **Just you wait**!" Toothless said proudly. " **Nobody can go faster than me and my human**!"

"What's he saying?" Greta asked,

"Oh just boasting about us,"

"He seems to do that quite a lot," she remarked,

" **It's not boasting; it's stating a fact!** "

" **It's also a fact that I can go much faster than you**!" Hookfang retorted, " **provided that fat boy of mine isn't weighing me down**!"

"I don't know what Hookfang's saying but I agree with it! We're going to get first place, just wait and see!"

"Come on, Snotlout, when have you _ever_ gotten first place?" Fishlegs said loudly.

"This time we're gonna destroy the entire race course!" Tuffnut announced.

"Guys, I really wish you wouldn't try that," Hiccup said, "Do you have any idea how hard it is and how much it costs to rebuild the race course?"

"Nope!"

"I thought as much," he mumbled.

"Well I'm getting tired of the racing talk," Astrid said after a moment, "how about a song or something? Snotlout, I was NOT talking to YOU!" For Snotlout had just prepared to start singing again. "Hiccup, have you got that Veena of yours around?"

"Yeah, it's in my room. I'll be right back."

He entered his house and met his father looking over some parchment with Gobber the Blacksmith.

"Ah, son, you're back!" Stoick grinned, "We were just talking about your plans for this new crane,"

"Feasible?" Hiccup asked as he went upstairs,

"It's gonna mean a lot o' iron, lad. Not sure if we've got the means or labor ta make it," Gobber replied.

"You know Gobber, maybe it's time to get some new apprentices," Stoick remarked.

Hiccup came down with his veena, a large stringed instrument he had come across in India. "Maybe we can get some iron from the Owl Guts next time I visit. I know Gort's new wife likes jewelry, maybe she'd agree to a trade." Usually Hiccup would suggest Gronkles to produce the metal but Stoick liked to encourage trade between tribes.

"A Scauldron brought in a treasure chest picked from a wreck while you were gone." Stoick informed him. "Berk's a lot wealthier than it was a week ago."

"Good to know,"

Stoick rolled up the parchment. "It's settled then. We'll offer some of the jewelry we just got in exchange for some metal and get this crane built. If we move fast it'll be finished before the ice settles in. As for the labor and costs, we can afford it. Now Gobber, I think we've spent enough time talking, don't you? Let's see what's going on in Mead Hall tonight!"

"Bring your singing voices," Hiccup replied, gesturing to his instrument, "Astrid wants some music,"

"Speaking of Astrid—"

"We'll talk about that later tonight," Hiccup promised.

Back in Mead Hall, Hiccup tuned up the veena, making a sound rather like the hum of bees.

"Right, so what are we going to sing anyway?" he asked. Everybody instantly shouted their favorite song.

"Let's have 'Children of Thor'" Stoick commanded, to shouts of approval.

" _When the breeze is strong the ship goes along_

 _Like a bird soaring over the ocean_

 _And our hearts beat hard as each pulls their oar_

 _We're off to where no one has gone before!_

 _That's because we are Children of Thor!_

" _We always will be Vikings a_ _nd that's all we've got to say_

 _We always will be Vikings n_ _o matter the year or day_

 _We'll always be Vikings a_ _nd do what Vikings do_

 _And if you're not a Viking w_ _hat is wrong with you?"_

" **I've always found that last bit a little depressing** ," Hiccup remarked to Toothless.

" _Be it dusk or dawn let the storms come on,_

 _We're fearless when our ship is in motion_

 _We're the toughest crew you could ever meet_

 _But to the ladies we are always sweet!_

 _That's because we are Children of Thor!_

 _We always will be Vikings, t_ _hat's the point we'd like to make_

 _We always will be Vikings, p_ _rotest and your head will break!_

 _We'll always be Vikings a_ _nd do what Vikings do_

 _And if you try to stop us w_ _e'd hate to be you!_

Gobber suddenly interrupted, shouting at the top of his lungs:

" _Smelly Stickstack is the lass ah love!_

 _She's as huggable as a leather glove_!"

"Gobber!" Stoick shouted.

"Wot? I wanna sing 'Smelly Stickstack'!"

"We haven't finished 'Children of Thor' yet!"

"Oh, sorree,"

"Hiccup, the next verse please," Stoick said. Hiccup had a slight problem complying with this because Astrid was laughing so hard she had grabbed his neck for support.

"I think someone's had a bit too much to drink tonight,"

"I'm perfectly fine!" Astrid snickered.

"Hiccup!"

"All right all right, 3, 2, 1…"

" _O'er the seas of green are places unseen_

 _To find them we give our full devotion_

 _Round the continents north to south we'll roam_

 _Until we return to our island home!_

 _That's because we are Children of Thor!_

 _We always will be Vikings, t_ _hat's the point we'd like to make_

 _We always will be Vikings p_ _rotest and your head will break!_

 _We'll always be Vikings a_ _nd do what Vikings do_

 _We're brave, strong, and audacious a_ _nd forever true!"_

As the music ceased to sound everyone sat around laughing. The music was very rousing and left everyone eager for another drink and a fight. Gobber started his song up again and others joined in. This prompted even more laughter when they tried to dance to it. Seeing the half drunk smith with the peg leg and the fake arm trying to spin around to a beat was downright hilarious, and he thought this more than anyone else.

"Well," Greta said at last, as things calmed down a little and the party began to break up, "I think it's time to turn in, Astrid. Lots to do tomorrow and all that,"

"All right," Astrid nodded.

"Actually, Mrs. Hofferson, may I have a word with you?" Hiccup asked. "It won't take long, I promise,"

"Go ahead Astrid, I'll be right there," Greta waved her daughter out. Before they left Astrid kissed Hiccup good night.

"See you tomorrow then,"

"I look forward to it,"

" **I know you do** ," Toothless gave them the grin that was his namesake.

"I oughta go home too," Fishlegs announced, "I've got more writing to do." He was in the middle of writing a new Book of Dragons. He intended for it to be the most informative volume on Dragons ever written. Hiccup had helped on occasion and had loaned him his travel journals for information. Everyone knew, and Fishlegs most of all, that he would never be a powerful Chief or warrior, and his family, while respectable, would never be among the highest ranking in social circles. So Fishlegs was putting everything he could into this work. It was going to be his legacy.

"Why does Hiccup want to talk to your mother?" Ruffnut asked as they made their way to Stormfly's pen. Astrid always checked in on her friend before turning in for the night. Ruffnut came along to get away from the men for a minute.

Astrid shrugged, "I don't know. **Hey girl** ," she said in clipped dragonese as she patted Stormfly.

" **Hello!** " The Nadder squawked. She and Astrid could only have minimal conversations because Astrid only knew a little of her language.

" **Ready for—for the race after tonight**?"

" **You mean 'after tomorrow' I think,"** Stormfly chuckled. " **And yes, I am**!"

" **What**?"

" **Yes**!"

"Good," Astrid grinned. "And this time we're beating Hiccup and Toothless!"

She stroked the Nadder a bit before saying goodnight.

"So, Ruff, see you in the morning then?"

"Yeah, I'd better go make certain Tuff isn't dead or severely injured yet. And I think Mildew's got his eyes set on Chicken."

Astrid shook her head. "You guys and that chicken,"

"Hey, Snotlout has his ego, Fishlegs has his books, you have Hiccup, and we have our Chicken! Fair is fair!"

"Get out of here, Ruff," Astrid shooed her away, "Goodnight,"

Berk, if nothing else, was an interesting place to live.

Up in her room Astrid watched from the window as Hiccup, Toothless, and the Chief made their way past her house to their own. They all looked very happy, she noted. Her mother came in shortly afterwards and seemed to be fighting the urge to smile. Suspicious, Astrid went down to see her.

"What's up?"

"Oh, just the Twins and Snotlout being silly as usual," Greta said with a dismissive wave of her hand. "I pity the Thorsten household."

"Their parents can barely leave the house you know," Astrid pointed out, "whereas the Twins never stay inside for very long,"

"True. And Snotlout was making a fool of himself too. But you know, I sometimes wonder if he's just acting that way to disguise how much he's hurting,"

"Maybe," Astrid said. Personally she felt Snotlout acted the way he did because it was natural, but then again, he had lost his father in the war and she supposed living in that house with only Hookfang for company could be lonely. And Fishleg's mother had died of fever during the last winter. The only intact family among the original Dragon Riders was now the Thorsten household. A household of two elderly people who were nearly invalids, a maid who spent her entire time looking after them, and two young and near insane pyromaniac adults. Whatever values the Dragon Riders stood for, they failed rather miserably at promoting the ideal family life.

The thoughts of these torn up families remained in her head as she went back to her room. She looked long and hard at the ring her father had given her.

"I hope they're all at peace and in Valhalla, Odin," she whispered, "I know Dad's not coming back, but I can't stop thinking about him and all the others who died that day. I never even had a chance to say goodbye to him." She fought the urge to cry. "Well," she said heavily, "Life goes on, doesn't it?"

With that she put out the candle and went to bed. But it was some time before she fell asleep.

This was Berk. On the surface it looked lovely and pleasant, and on most days it was full of activity and antics seldom seen elsewhere. But the Vikings had paid a heavy price for all the frivolity and prosperity and they still felt the pain of it.


	3. Chapter 3

**I Own Nothing**

 **All Rights Reserved**

 **Author's Note:**

 **In response to Mana's review: I have seen bits and pieces of the new series, and I like what I see. I was already considering having Viggo put a bounty on Hiccup's head, and maybe have Hiccup turn the tables and put one on Viggo's head, but the section in the story where I would do this has not been written yet. And I do agree that Viggo makes a more effective villain than Drago, but in fairness let's remember that Viggo has had a lot more screen time to be fleshed out.**

 **So far the new season of RTTE has not influenced my story much, mostly because these first chapters were written months before I even knew a new season was being made.**

 **The next chapter will be posted on March 8.**

 **This chapter was a lot of fun to write. Hope it's as much fun to read!**

 **Chapter 3**

 **Racing Day**

It was the day of the race and Hiccup was busy applying red paint to his face.

"Son, can we talk a minute?"

"Better make it quick, we've got a race to win!" Hiccup grinned. Toothless laughed. Excitement was running amok in both of them.

"Very funny, but son we do need to talk—about your future."

Hiccup put the paintbrush down, his excitement punctured. "My future?"

"Yes, son. First of all: when can I expect my grandchildren?"

"Well, Dad, until alchemists figure out how to give men the ability to give birth, I'd say you're in for a long wait! Unless you want to adopt, you know the Romans often did that, in fact—"

Stoick shook his head. "Son, I'm trying to be serious!"

"Then in seriousness, if I play my cards right you have nothing to worry about,"

Stoick was intrigued. "Oh?"

"Yes 'oh,' and that's the shape Snotlout's mouth is going to be after losing the race!"

" **Yes**!" Toothless crowed loudly, " **Team HicTooth Forever**!"

" **Toothless, you know I think combining two names together to make a new one is stupid!** "

" **And that's why I remind you about it**!"

"Hiccup, will you listen?" Stoick said impatiently.

"Dad, the race starts—"

"When I say it starts."

Hiccup went back to applying the face paint. "Have you made the arrangements for the gifts yet?"

"Yes,"

"And kept it from Astrid?"

"She has no idea of what we're up to, I promise you,"

"Good. I've spoken with her mother and she had no objections. Then again, who would turn down a marriage offer from the Chief's son unless they really hated him?" He looked at himself in a looking glass and decided he was finished.

"Have you forged the morning gifts yet?" Stoick asked.

"I did those when I was with the Bog Burglars." He laughed "I had to have a Terror swipe one of Astrid's rings so I knew what size to make hers. It would be silly to hand her a ring that was too small or large for her finger. They're all finished. I'd say there's nothing more to do now but ask her." Now he gulped.

"And when will you do that? After the race?"

"That depends on who wins." He replied as he began applying paint to Toothless. "Maybe, if the moment feels right. If not, well, I'll think of something, as always,"

"Good. But I've been thinking about something else. You're all grown up, you're the Pride of Berk now, and I think it's time I made you Chief,"

Hiccup nearly dropped the jar of paint. " _What_?"

"It's time, Hiccup."

"For the race?"

"Son, would you please be serious?" Stoick said angrily. "You're my Heir and it's time for you to take up the mantle of Chief!"

"I was hoping to wait a little longer, actually," Hiccup said quietly.

"What are you waiting for?" Stoick cried in exasperation. Hiccup did not respond but looked at himself in the looking glass again. Stoick considered being angry, but thought better of it. Being angry and forceful in his decisions had helped drive them apart long ago, and they had only recently begun reconciling. "Look son, I don't mean you're going to be Chief as soon as the race is over! I just mean that you're ready for it, so maybe now you should start committing yourself to it!"

"I still say Astrid's the better choice for this,"

"We've been through this a hundred times and you know I disagree."

" **And she does too**!" Toothless added, " **And don't paint so close to my eyes, it stings** …"

"Look, Son, I don't want to pressure you to do this, but the fact is I'm not getting any younger, and I'd rather have you grow into your role while I'm still around to help you to,"

" **I really hate it when he brings this up** ," he grumbled to Toothless,

"Hiccup," Stoick said, "You know I can't understand you when you talk to Toothless,"

"I'm just telling him what I think about this, Dad,"

"Well why not tell _me_ what you think?"

" **Because you'd probably dismiss it and give me some "a Chief puts his people first" speech**." Hiccup said in Dragonese.

"What was that?"

"Nothing,"

"I don't see what you're so hesitant about! You practically are already the Chief—or at least partly. You're already involved in running this place, you already lead dragons, and everyone listens to your suggestions—why won't you just take the final step and become Chief officially?"

" **Yeah, why don't we**?" Toothless asked.

" **I'll tell you why: because I don't mind helping out with Berk's affairs, but I'd rather do it because I** _ **want**_ **to, not because I** _ **have**_ **to.** " Hiccup sighed, "There's no way out of this, is there?"

"Not unless you leave again," Stoick said, "and I really hope that you won't."

Hiccup had thought about it, but he knew Astrid would never forgive him if he did. And after all that had happened, leaving seemed like throwing away everything he had worked for just when it was starting to pay off. "How about this? I propose to Astrid. If she says yes, we get married, then we take a little trip together, and when we come back I'll take over the reins. And if she says no…we can start the following day. I'll need a big distraction if that happens."

"It's a deal." Stoick shook his son's hand and then realized there was wet paint on it. "Well then! Let's go and add another 'win' to the Haddock name! And where's a towel?"

" **That's more like it**!" Toothless cried. He darted enthusiastically out the door, but Hiccup moved a bit slowly. His mind was no longer on the race.

Nobody who had seen the Killing Arena a year ago would recognize it now. Among other things, it had been greatly enlarged. The chains covering it and the cells it once had were all gone, replaced with elevated wooden platforms, turrets, signal posts, and lots of room for the spectators, human and dragon. Before, the crowds looked down into a large enclosed pit. Now the positions were somewhat reversed. In the center was a large platform with five proportionally large baskets built into it.

Stoick took his spot in the Chiefs Seat, and a loud roar went up from the crowd. One thing that had not changed much over time was the noise. Vikings and Dragons alike were shouting for their favorite racer, making bets, yelling at others to be quiet so they could hear any announcements, or trying to spot the sheep that were nervously wandering around the area, among other things. Others just shouted for the sake of it. Regardless, everybody was excited and had no qualms about showing it.

And yet when Stoick raised a hand he somehow managed to make everyone fall so quiet they could hear the sound of the waves lapping against the masts holding up some of the stands.

"Well!" Stoick shouted, "Welcome to Berk's Seventh Dragon Race!" the silence ended at once and a loud cheer went up again. "Here today, for the first time since the very first race in our history, we have competing Hiccup Horrendous Haddock the Third and Toothless!"

" **As if they don't already know** ," Hiccup whispered to the Night Fury as they flew to the starting platform. As was customary they did a few spins, sending the crowd into an even louder frenzy. Hiccup saw several girls screaming and giggling, and one even fainted.

"Astrid Hofferson and Stormfly!" Another loud shout went up, especially from the men in the crowd. Astrid had painted blue and orange stripes in a watery shape around her face and on Stormfly's wings and head. She looked as excited as anyone and shouted as they flew to join Hiccup.

"Whoohoo! Guess who's going to win today!"

"You know you look really beautiful when you're this happy," Hiccup replied. Astrid punched him in the shoulder and the crowd roared with laughter.

"OW! Sheesh, I should call foul play on that one!"

"Don't try distracting me by flirting, Dragon Boy!" Astrid grinned, "Save it for the victory celebration!"

"As you wish, Milady,"

As this was going on Fishlegs had been introduced and was barreling over to join them. He had painted an orange and green circle on his face and had put stripe patterns of the same colors on Meatlug's legs and face. "Yeah! Who's going to win today?"

"I'm glad you have such confidence in me, Fish,"

"I wasn't talking about _you_ , Hiccup!"

"He was talking about me!" said Astrid.

"Snotlout Jorgenson and Hookfang!" Stoick boomed.

Out of all the Riders Snotlout had gone the furthest in painting his dragon. Hookfang's wings and legs were thickly striped with yellow and red, and his head and horns had been painted soot black. He was almost unrecognizable. As for Snotlout, he simply had a red stripe on each cheek, one in between his eyes, and one running down his chin.

"Yeah! All you losers best watch out/Here's the champ; his name's Snotlout!"

The other riders snorted but he paid them no mind.

"And last but not least—" Stoick went on,

" **Actually** …" Hookfang sniggered,

"Ruffnut and Tuffnut Thorsten and Barf 'n Belch!"

Barf n' Belch looked bizarre. On Ruffnut's side, the wing was painted with yellow, green, and blue and made a kind of diamond shape. Ruffnut's face mixed Snotlout's design in terms of shape with Astrid's design in terms of color. Tuffnut, on the other hand, had painted in yellow and black some indistinguishable shape on his dragon's wing. It looked as though he had just waved the brush around randomly and called it good—and he very well might have. As for his face, Tuffnut had gone to the extreme. It was all yellow except on his cheeks and around his eyes and nose, which were black. The black around his eyes made them seem to bulge out, giving him a very unearthly and downright creepy appearance.

Stoick waved his hand for silence again. "Now, this time around, the race is in two parts. First there will be a contest to gather the sheep. Once a contestant has collected five they will make three laps through the obstacle course. The one to complete the laps and make it back to the starting podium will be the winner!" More cheers rang out, as was to be expected. Stoick nodded to Gobber. Gobber grabbed a flag, counted, and started waving it around. A loud sound of confusion rose from the crowd and the racers.

Stoick slapped his fist against his head. "Gobber, the green flag means "Penalty Point!"

Gobber put it down sheepishly. "Oops,"

"It's the orange one."

"Gotcha," he grabbed the orange one and waved it. The Riders took their positions and waited.

The audience leaned forward in their seats and waited.

And waited.

And waited.

Stoick rounded on Gobber again. "Gobber, will ya blow the horn already!"

"Ah'm just so outta it today," the smith moaned. The sound of a cow mooing filled the air.

"And they're off!" Stoick shouted, "And Gobber is relieved of duty!"

"Ah c'mon, it was still funny, wasn't it?"

The Riders scattered in all directions, trying to find the sheep. The sheep, who were almost horrified at what was going on, had huddled together in small groups, hoping the rule "safety in numbers" would apply. Most of the groups were hiding under whatever structure they could find. The Riders of course were forbidden to hurt the sheep—and anyone who did was disqualified and fined. But they had ways of getting them into the opened.

One group of sheep was hiding in between two sheds, where the dragons could not reach. Hookfang suddenly dropped at one end, drew himself up to full height, put on an evil expression, and lit himself on fire. The terrified sheep ran for the other side of the gap. As soon as they started moving Hookfang and Snotlout were up in the air again, swooped over the roofs, and came right down on the first sheep that left the hiding place.

"Gotcha!" Snotlout shouted, "Snotlout 1, the rest none!"

"Not quite true!" Fishlegs shouted back. Meatlug had a sheep in her claws. They swooped over to his basket, dodging the Twins, who had gotten Barf n' Belch's necks twisted up and were spinning out of control. It was one of their favorite pastimes.

Stormfly and Toothless were right behind Hookfang, each with their own sheep.

"So everyone but the Twins has one sheep!" Stoick boomed. "Will those two be able to control themselves or will they—they did! They've crash landed in their own boar pit!"

"Sorry, guys, but there aren't any sheep in there!" Astrid shouted as she swooped past.

"There should be!" Tuffnut yelled after her.

"Yeah, it's a boar pit! Sheep are like boars, aren't they?" Ruffnut said groggily. "Whoa—Tuff, I'm seeing three of you."

Fishlegs had discovered that his dragon could barely fit in between the two sheds that a group of sheep were hiding between. If they just stayed there he would make 5 easily. Unfortunately, Snotlout swooped over to join him, hoping for an easy catch of his own, and Hookfang's presence sent the sheep scattering.

"Darn it, Snotlout!" Fishlegs shouted.

"It's not _my_ fault if those muttonheads scare so easily!"

Meanwhile, on another side of the racecourse, Hiccup and Astrid both spotted a sheep. It had apparently decided "safety in numbers" also meant "bigger target" and, either bravely or foolishly, had struck off on its own. Stormfly dove first. Toothless waited and then dropped right in front of her.

"Hey!" Astrid shouted. Stormfly shrieked angrily.

"Get it, Bud!" But Stormfly suddenly swung her tail and flung spikes at them. Toothless spun around to easily dodge them but the distraction allowed Stormfly to barely get ahead.

"That was totally uncalled for!" Hiccup shouted,

"Oh sorry, did we do that?" Astrid asked innocently. At that moment the Zippleback came out of nowhere and lunged for the sheep but missed.

"Come on, Belch, we can do it!" Tuffnut shouted. The sudden attack had made the sheep change direction. Toothless zipped around the Twins and grabbed it. Stormfly shot over to take it from him. More by instinct than intent, Toothless swung his tail and swatted the Nadder's face, bonking his prosthetic tail on Stormfly's horns.

"Hey!" Astrid shouted again,

"My sincerest apologies," Hiccup said smugly as they flew to their basket.

"Oooh, if _that's_ how you want to play it, Haddock," Astrid grinned wickedly, "come on, girl!"

Meanwhile, Fishlegs and Snotlout were vying for the same sheep. Their dragons were diving towards the fleeing animal at high speed.

Fishlegs suddenly pointed. "Look! A naked woman!"

"Where?" Snotlout shouted eagerly, looking left and making Hookfang do the same. They realized the mistake too late. They crashed into the ground and Meatlug rose out of the chaos with the sheep in her grip.

"THAT WAS HITTING BELOW THE BELT YOU DIRTY ROTTEN FOUL NO GOOD—!" Snotlout yelled after the gleeful Fishlegs.

Snotlout mounted again and went in search of the Twins. He spotted them going after a sheep. As he drew near he suddenly shouted "Look! An explosion!"

"Where?" Tuffnut shouted. He turned Belch's head and they rammed into Ruffnut and Barf. Snotlout grinned and swooped in for his prize. Unfortunately, Hookfang somehow misjudged the distance and they instead ran into a fence. The Twins quickly sorted out their tangled, flew over the Nightmare, and got their first sheep of the day. As they flew to their basket they passed Stormfly, who had a sheep in each claw.

"So the score is now: the Twins have 1, Fishlegs has 2, Astrid has 3, Hiccup has 2—make that 3, and Snotlout has 1."

"Ah shebluck!" Snotlout shouted as he swooped in to grab another sheep.

"She-what?" Fishlegs said to Meatlug, who only snorted. The Twins had gone after Hiccup to try and steal from him, but Toothless whipped around a house and they lost him. So they went for Fishlegs, who had just grabbed another sheep.

"Give up the sheep!" Tuffnut commanded dramatically.

"Never!" Fishlegs roared as he heroically clung to his prize.

"We will have that sheep!" Ruffnut declared as they went after him. Snotlout had spotted the commotion and decided to join in. They were converging on Fishlegs. Hiccup meantime was flying for his basket and decided to have a little fun. Right before the Zippleback and Nightmare crashed into the Gronkle the Night Fury zipped in between the three of them. His sudden actions saved Fishlegs, for they made the Twins and Snotlout pull up instinctively.

Astrid meanwhile was flying overhead with two sheep firmly in Stormfly's claws. Snotlout went after her.

"I'll be taking that!" he shouted, "Get her, Hookfang!" The poor sheep must have thought it was going to be pulled apart as Hookfang tried to tug it from Stormfly's grip. Neither of the dragons would let go and both pulled hard.

" **Stormfly, drop** ," Astrid ordered, "We'll get another one." Seconds later they dropped their second sheep into the basket.

"So Astrid and Hiccup were tied at 4, Snotlout now has 2, Fishlegs has 3, and the Twins—the Twins have 2 now! Astrid and Hiccup just need one more sheep apiece and they can advance to the next part!" Stoick announced.

"Not if we can get there first," Fishlegs mumbled. "Come on, Meatlug!" They moved past Snotlout, who was shouting something at the Twins. Meatlug then spotted another sheep and got it without a problem. And then the horn sounded.

"Astrid has five sheep! She may now advance to the obstacle course!" Stoick shouted. "And Hiccup now has five sheep as well! He's right behind her!"

The two dragons were vying for first as they shot towards the sea stacks. Right before they reached a sea stack a plume of fire burst forth from it. As arranged, Shamrock the Treejumper was hiding behind it.

"Watch your tail!" Astrid shouted, concern overriding her competitiveness.

"Relax!" Hiccup grinned, "The tailfin's fireproof—watch out!" There was another shot that nearly hit Stormfly. He glanced back and spotted Meatlug coming after them with as much speed as she could muster.

" **It won't be long before Snotlout and the Twins come now that the competition for the sheep is largely gone** ," Hiccup observed,

" **That'll only be our problem if they can catch us!"** Toothless laughed as he dodged another jet of fire. Suddenly a pile of rocks went tumbling down in front of them.

" **Did** _ **you**_ **know that was going to happen**?"

" **Nope! Watch it! We need to catch Astrid!** "

They were now dodging Sea stacks left and right. After a few more minutes they neared the end of the lap. Stormfly was ahead of them but they were gaining. By now Snotlout and the Twins had finally gotten their sheep and had begun their laps.

"Astrid has just 2 laps to go and Hiccup is right behind her!" Stoick shouted, "This could be a close one!"

Behind one of the sea stacks a small boat was lurking. Two people hooded and clad in black were in it.

"They're coming around again," the first one muttered.

The second nodded. "We might have to wait until dark before trying to land now,"

"What are they doing anyway?"

"Racing, I guess. Using dragons for personal entertainment; isn't it disgusting?"

"The Queen will be furious when she learns about that,"

"She'll be even more furious if we fail such a simple task. Just land, leave the message somewhere it can be found, and sail off; those were the orders and what happens? We nearly get caught before we even land! I told you we should have waited until nightfall!"

"And I told you it would be too risky sailing around these stacks and making our way to a village in the dark!" The first one snapped.

There was a long silence. Then the second one said "You know, if this is a race those riders will probably came this way again…tie the message to an arrow."

"Are you that good a shot?"

"I think so. If it works it'll make a darn good impression on them,"

Astrid and Hiccup had completed the second lap. Fishlegs was gaining on them. The remaining Riders were also coming up but were finishing only their first lap. For them it was now a battle over who would not get last place. Dodging fires, boulders, sea stacks, and now a Scauldron, they were flying much closer together than they had all morning.

"Here they come," one of the men in the boat warned. "Get ready,"

"I _am_ ready," the other said. He took very careful aim and released the shaft.

"Excellent shot," the first said, "the message has been delivered,"

"Let's get going before they find us,"

Toothless and Stormfly were nose to nose now. In a few minutes they would cross the finish line.

"Hiccup, don't you dare think of throwing the race!" Astrid suddenly shouted.

"You didn't mind when I did that for Thawfest," Hiccup yelled back.

"That was for Snotlout's sake, not mine!" she shouted back. "But what am I saying? You won't have to throw the race anyway!" Stormfly inched ahead. The winner had to touch the starting podium first. Toothless caught up to the Nadder. They would reach the podium in less than a minute. They could see it now. The dragons summoned up the last of their energy to put on the final burst of speed. The tension in the crowd grew higher and higher. Stomachs were twisting into knots. People were standing still as statues, afraid to blink and miss something.

Stormfly slammed into the podium. Toothless slammed into Stormfly. The crowd went nuts.

"ASTRID IS THE WINNER!" Stoick bellowed, but for once nobody could hear him.

Astrid tried to maintain her sportsmanship, but it was hard not to scream victoriously. Hiccup picked himself up from the tangled mess and then hugged and kissed her. Toothless was less gracious. He whacked her lightly with his tail. Nobody had time for anything else when Meatlug and Fishlegs barreled into them.

"That's my daughter! That's my daughter!" Greta shouted loudly, as if nobody was aware of the fact. "Oh Olaf, if you could only see her now…"

"YEAH!" Stoick shouted, "That's my future daughter-in—"

Gobbber slapped him. "Stoick, that's supposed to be a secret,"

"Oh come on, how secret can it be when he kisses her in front of the whole village?" Stoick demanded.

By this point Snotlout reached the podium and the Twins were not far behind. For them the only real joy in finishing was the party that would come in a couple of hours. Still, te Twins were impressed with the falling rocks and fire—in fact Ruffnut's hair was slightly singed. Snotlout was switching between trying to inflate his accomplishment and dismissing his low placement as an Act of Thor. As for the dragons, Stormfly had accepted her victory like Astrid, Toothless was only slightly morose now, deciding even the best had an 'off day' now and then, Meatlug was licking Stormfly, Barf n' Belch were oblivious to what was going on, and Hookfang was snickering about how he had sabotaged his rider's chances of a better finish.

Suddenly Hiccup uttered a cry of shock. "Tuffnut, why is there an arrow stuck in your helmet?"

All eyes turned to the Thorsten male. He took his helmet off curiously and saw there was indeed an arrow imbedded in it. A piece of parchment was tied to it. The very tip of the arrow had made its way through the metal; had the helmet been slightly thinner it would have probably have managed to pierce his skull.

"I…almost _died_?" Suddenly he began screaming. "I almost died! I almost died! I…almost _died_?" he suddenly looked delighted. "Whoohoo! I almost died! Yeah! I almost died, yeah!" he started jumping around and strutting as if he had been the winner of the race.

Hiccup was more interested in the parchment. As he read it he frowned.

Stoick, seeing something was wrong, had leapt onto Skullcrusher and flown over to join them. "Read it out loud," he ordered.

"' _To the Dragon King: We know you stole the Dragon Eye. You will come alone to Green Island and return it. If you do not we will come for it ourselves and we will not hesitate to kill anyone who gets in our way. You have two days_.'"


	4. Chapter 4

**I Own Nothing**

 **All Rights Reserved**

 **Author's Note: I know I said updates would be every Saturday, but I won't be around to update this Saturday, and so I decided to do it early rather than late. Chapter 5 is intended to be posted on March 18** **th** **.**

 **Chapter 4**

 **A Meeting on Green Island**

Green Island was indeed a green island. It was mostly flat and covered in grasses and wispy wildflowers. Not so green were the small lumpy cliffs that the ocean waves slammed into every minute of every day. By uninhabited island standards, it was fairly large, though not large enough for any kind of tribe to settle on. Due to its exposed nature it was sometimes used as a meeting spot for tribes, because neither side could easily conceal an ambush there.

Before landing Hiccup and Toothless took a look around the area. A single person dressed in black stood at the center of the island. Off the shore to the west was a small squadron of ships. The wind was blowing and he could see the emblems on the green flags, which was a dragon's wing with a gold lined shield in the center. He assumed at any rate it was a dragon's wing, for it was clearly not a bird wing and he knew of no one who used a bat wing as a symbol. The shield was not the round circle Vikings used, but curved pentagonal, like a knight's shield. He searched his memory but did not recognize it.

They landed on the eastern side of the island and the King slowly approached the figure in the center. His helmet was on so the only part of his face visible was his eyes. Toothless kept a careful distance behind him, ready to attack at any moment.

The unknown person, whose face was also concealed except for a pair of cold eyes, gestured to the sky behind them. "I believe our note said to come _alone_ ,"

"Did you really expect me to blindly go along with that?" The King asked coldly, "As it is, the riders up there are only here for my protection. As long as there's no treachery you have nothing to worry about. On the other hand, if this is a trap you have everything to worry about."

"Duly noted." The person looked him over. "Let's get down to business. You have the Dragon Eye. We want it back. Give it to me right now and nobody gets hurt."

The King cocked his head to one side, as if considering. "That's all very clear and concise. There's only one slight problem: whatever this Dragon Eye thing is, I don't have it."

"And I think you're lying,"

"That's your misfortune and it won't change the truth."

"We will not be trifled with, Dragon King. If you don't return the Eye to its rightful owners we _will_ use force to make you—and we have ways of dealing with those who mistreat and enslave dragons," their hand went down to a curved sword attached to their belt.

"We don't mistreat or enslave dragons. We befriend them."

"Yet you call yourself the Dragon _King_ ,"

"I've also been called the Dragon Sorcerer yet I don't have any magic powers. And I personally see myself as a Dragon _Trainer_."

"Yes, you train dragons into submissive brainwashed grunts to do your bidding."

"You're not making a very good negotiator, you know. But that makes little difference because we've been at an impasse the moment we started talking."

The person demanded where he had been five nights ago, which the King assumed was the night this thing had been stolen. The King's response was he had been journeying to the Bog Burglars Island at the time and was probably sleeping on a sea stack, as he often did on those trips.

"So you have no alibi,"

"And I don't need one, because I don't have this Eye and I don't have a clue of where it is right now—and by the way, are we talking like an eye as in a real 'eye'? Because that would be downright disgusting."

Now the Unknown cocked their head to one side and the King thought he saw a hint of curiosity in their eyes. "You're either a fool or we've somehow got the wrong person,"

"I imagine you do. But humor me: why do you think I stole your Dragon Eye?"

"One of my Followers insisted it was you. And who else could have done it?"

"Take your pick. There are a lot of people around here who ride dragons these days. Have you considered that? What made your Follower so certain it was me?"

For the first time the Unknown's confidence faltered. "That Follower was positive it was you. And my Followers do not lie to me."

"Then they were mistaken. Where are they now, anyway? Call them over; I want to hear this for myself."

"Unfortunately, I cannot. They volunteered for a task and left two days ago. I was expecting they would be back by now, but it seems their ship has been delayed by something." They looked genuinely concerned about this.

"How inconvenient for everyone. Or maybe not. Still, if I was there stealing this eye, as you claim, was I riding a Night Fury?"

"No, but we know you have easy access to other dragons. This one had four wings; that is all we can be certain of. I'm sure you have such a dragon amidst your many slaves."

The King exchanged a glance with Toothless.

" **Hiccup, it's that rider again, the one Drago mentioned** ,"

" **I know Bud** ,"

The unknown's looked outraged. "Is _nothing_ revered by you people that you even dare to speak their language?"

"Well if he talks to me I naturally have to talk back!" The King said sharply, "Now look, I didn't take your Eye, but I think I have an idea who did."

"Oh yes? And now you're going to tell me who it is and send me off on a wild chase for a few years while you capture more dragons?"

"I don't _capture_ dragons. I free them and I take them in if they allow it. If you're so well informed, you should know that."

The figure spoke somewhat grudgingly, "Yes, we know you've been rescuing dragons from hunters and such. We do not object to that. But they should be set free, not kept as pets or circus animals. I heard about your dragon racing and I think it is atrocious. It is not right that dragons should live that way, and that is what we object to the most, that and the fact that you demean them."

"We don't keep them as pets and we don't demean them. They're our _friends_ , as free as anybody else on our island," he pointed to Toothless, "and does he really look like a pet or some slave? Is this what you'd call a demeaned dragon?"

" **Certainly not**!" Toothless said proudly.

"Then what is with that tail fin?"

"Well, there are sadly people out there who try to hunt and kill dragons." The King said smoothly, "I fix what I can." He left it at that, knowing it would not look good to say who actually was responsible for the loss of the tail fin. After all these years he still felt a wave of guilt whenever it was mentioned. Sometimes he even wondered if he was being a hypocrite.

There was a silence, during which the person eyed him carefully. "You say you know who stole the Eye?"

"I _think_ I do."

"Show me your face, that I may know if you're telling me the truth,"

"Only if you reveal yours,"

Their hands slowly moved to their heads. The King took off his helmet and the mask underneath it. At the same time the figure pulled down the hood and face cloth. She was a young woman, maybe only 5 years older than the King. Her hair was short and blond, and she had a stern face with firm features.

"I am Mala, Queen of the Defenders of the Wing," she said formally.

He bowed his head stiffly, though personally he was unimpressed with the title. "Just call me Hiccup."

"Then I have a new proposal for you…Hiccup. You say you know who stole the Dragon Eye: prove it. Find this person, retrieve the Eye from them, and bring it back to us. My share of the bargain remains the same: we will not harm Berk if you do this. And I might just provide a good monetary reward for your services," she added.

"That's very clear and succinct, but I have a counter proposal. Keep the money, we don't need it. I bring you this Eye. While I am gone, your tribe visits my island, and you shall see for yourselves that we do not enslave dragons or brainwash them. And let me point out that if I go on this venture, I have to know exactly what it is I'm looking for."

"No you don't."

"Yes I do."

"That is information only the select few can know. And why should I accept your bargain? I could, after all, threaten Berk and force you to accept mine."

"And what guarantee is there that I'll keep my half if you do that? Once I'm in the air, what will you do to stop me?"

"We have ways. Ways that have worked against Dragon Trappers will work on you too."

"You fight against Dragon Trappers?" Hiccup was secretly very interested. "Then why are we arguing like this when we have a common enemy? I've been working against them for years. Them and Drago Bludvist."

"Yes, we've heard about that. We know about that monster Bludvist too."

"Then why didn't you do anything about him?" The King demanded, his anger at the subject getting the better of him. "Where were _you_ a year ago?"

"We came north to put an end to him. Unfortunately, we arrived too late to take part in the battle you're referring too." She looked embarrassed to admit it.

"Would your presence have made any difference?" the King asked with a skeptical raise of his eyebrow.

Mala's temper flared again. "I'll have you know every single one of us is more than a match for you or any Viking!"

"I'm not a Viking,"

"Oh? And what are you then?"

"A man who's getting tired of this talk and wants to come to an agreement. You can take my terms or find the Eye yourself and I wish you the best of luck…and if you try to attack Berk…well, I would advise you _not_ to if you value your lives. Recall what happened to Bludvist when he tried it. But I think I would rather have you for an ally than an enemy. As we both are opposed to Dragon Hunting, by the sound of things we should be pooling our resources." He saw she was maintaining an uncompromising posture. "Well, I've enjoyed the chat. Have fun searching," he started to back away.

Mala suddenly realized she had worked herself into a corner. The King had all the cards now. "Wait,"

He stopped and smiled. "I'm waiting,"

" **So are Astrid and your sire** ," Toothless muttered, looking at the dragons in the air behind him.

"The Eye is what matters most. For the chance of retrieving it, I will agree to your offer—on one condition. You will be accompanied by an equal number of Defenders."

"An equal number?" the King frowned slightly.

"It must be a joint effort," Mala smiled dangerously "You claim to know a lot about this thief. That makes you an asset I would be a fool not to make use of. Would you agree to come if I insisted every Defender must go with you? That would put you at a disadvantage. You would refuse or insist on bringing more of your cohorts with you, but either choice would put _us_ at a disadvantage and you know it. And this mission sounds like it requires stealth, not an army. So it is better we each contribute an equal number and no more. Besides, I cannot send all of my people because I have need of them elsewhere."

"You do realize they'll have to ride a dragon, right? It's the fastest and most efficient way to travel."

"It will be a necessary evil for the time being." Mala said with great reluctance. She knew he once again was right. "As I said, the Eye is what matters most."

"And should we fail?"

Mala's nostrils flared. "Defenders of the Wing do not fail. They either succeed or die trying."

"Excuse me then—suppose we both get killed? What happens?"

"Your companion will ensure you leave indications of where you two are going, and I assume you will send word of your progress to your home whenever you can. If after a month you have not returned or we have not heard from you, we will send out a new expedition to find the Eye."

"And for the last time: what _is_ the Dragon Eye?"

Mala sighed. "The Dragon Eye was made by one of our tribe's founders. His name I am forbidden to reveal. He was a great traveler and inventor, and he invented the Eye as a record keeper of his travels and observations. It's a device that contains lenses with a multitude of information on them. When he died he left it to the Defenders of the Wing. But the maps and information the Dragon Eye possessed were deemed too dangerous should they fall into the wrong hands, and it was decided to destroy everything. But nothing worked. The lenses and the device remained intact no matter what was tried. So our Forbearers decided to hide it. Each part was hidden in a different spot around the known world and the eye itself was kept in an iron case which only the Leader of the Defenders held the key to. For nearly four centuries these hiding places have sufficed. Even among our own people it was forgotten by most."

"So what happened to ruin this arrangement?" the King asked with genuine curiosity.

"We learned that a group of Dragon hunters found some of the lenses. At first we thought the finding was simply luck, and it well might have been, but now they have found too many for it to be a coincidence. Somehow they have learned about what those lenses can do and where they are hidden. They have been hunting down the others too. We acted fast. We began collecting the remaining lenses, and we stole the ones the Hunters had taken. But the Hunters were watching us, for less than a week ago they came and stole the lenses and the eye from us. We naturally stole them back while they were about to escape."

"All of them?"

"No. One lens remains hidden."

Hiccup knew better than to ask where it was, so he asked Mala to continue.

"There is little more to tell. Right after we took back what was ours, a human on a dragon appeared and without a word took it from us and vanished."

"Interesting," the King mused, "And you thought I was the culprit,"

Mala bowed her head, "Yes we did. And it seems that we were wrong. And that makes things even stranger."

Up in the sky, Astrid wished they would hurry up. Stormfly was starting to get tired of hovering and she knew the other dragons were too. Fishlegs and Snotlout were there, along with Stoick on his Rumblehorn Skullcrusher. The Twins and their Zippleback had been left on Berk, a punishment for once again nearly blowing up Stoick's house the night before.

Thankfully there seemed to be no reason for back up. Neither Hiccup nor the woman he was talking with showed any signs of hostilities. But their discussion seemed to go on forever.

"I'm bored!" Snotlout said loudly, "I'm bored and I can't hear a thing!"

"None of us can," Fishlegs grumbled,

"Well of course we can't if you lot keep talking for no reason!" Stoick snapped.

"What's he doing now anyway?" Snotlout asked, oblivious to the ire.

"They're shaking hands," Astrid said, "here they come!"

Hiccup and Toothless had taken off again and flew up to join them.

"So what happened?" Stoick asked, and the others echoed the question.

Hiccup shook his head. "Let's find someplace to land and I'll explain. It's not at all what we were expecting,"

" **Let's just land already**!" Hookfang shouted.

" **I agree** ," Stormfly squawked,

" **Maybe if you two put your energy into flying instead of your complaints you'd be just fine** ," the Rumblehorn growled.

"You're not seriously considering this!" Astrid exclaimed. They had flown to a sea stack and Hiccup had told them all about the meeting with Mala. "These people nearly killed Tuffnut, accused you of theft, have threatened every single one of us, and now you're going to do what they _ask_ you to?"

"I agree," Stoick said firmly, "they had no right to ask this of us and I see no reason to go along with it."

"And Hiccup, don't you realize that you're going to try and track down a _dragon_?" Fishlegs added, "A creature that can fly at insane speeds in any direction without leaving any tracks, and has had at least a week of a head start? Don't you know that's practically impossible?"

"Of course he doesn't," Snotlout laughed, "that's Hiccup for you. He always goes after the impossible. And Astrid, you're really hot when you look concerned like that!" She responded with a kick to his shins.

"Very funny, Snotlout, and yes, I am considering this," Hiccup replied.

"T **hat'll probably mean a long trip** ," Toothless grinned, " **sounds like fun! I'm in**!"

" **Me too**!" Hookfang added eagerly, " **I wanna see some more of the world**!"

" **Whoever said** _ **you**_ **were coming**?"

"Look," Hiccup said loudly over the bickering dragons, "I'm not ignorant of what Fishlegs pointed out, and I know I don't owe these Defenders anything, but that's not entirely why I agreed to this. I have reasons of my own."

"Such as?" Astrid demanded.

"Well first of all, I offered them a visit to Berk because I think we'd be better off having those people as our allies. We just have to show them we're not enslaving dragons. We've done things like this before, after all,"

Stoick considered this. "I suppose that could work. But what if they're playing us? What if they're really spies or something?"

"Then once they come to Berk we've got them at our mercy," Hiccup replied with a grim smile, "then we have them where we can keep an eye on them. And there's something more, something I haven't really told anyone about. When I was being held prisoner on the _Czernobog_ last year, Drago Bludvist told me some very interesting things. He mentioned that I'd been a problem for him ever since Fort Flay. But here's the thing: I've never been to that place. I'd never even heard of it until he brought it up!"

"So he got a fort or two mixed up," Snotlout snorted.

"Snotlout, when a person riding a dragon attacks your base, you remember where it happened. Well, maybe you don't, but Drago would have."

"So maybe _you_ got a fort mixed up," Stoick suggested,

"I've thought of that, but listen to what he told me next. I asked Drago if at Fort Flay the rider had a Night Fury. He answered in the negative. I asked him how he could explain that, and he replied the first dragon I was riding died of wounds inflicted by him, and so I made Toothless my replacement dragon—"

" **Replacement dragon indeed**!" Toothless said indignantly.

"—but we all know that's not true! Toothless is the only dragon I've ever ridden on a regular basis! Look, I don't pretend to know everything that's going on here, but the only conclusion I can make is this: at some point before I came into the picture, there was _another_ person who rode a dragon and was fighting against Drago. Drago at some point injured this person's dragon and they vanished, and for unknown reasons never resurfaced. When I showed up, Drago assumed I was the same person as before, just with a different dragon! That's the only explanation I can come up with at any rate."

They paused to digest this information. A dragon rider who had been harassing Drago before Hiccup showed up? It certainly sounded unlikely, but at the same time, it _could_ be possible. Given how this involved Hiccup, it could almost be plausible.

"And now this unknown person has returned," Astrid said, "You think they stole this Dragon Eye thing and once again people mistook the person for you,"

"Exactly. And it was not Camicazi or somebody else around here that stole that Eye either. I know for a fact nobody in this area has a dragon with four wings—yes, Dad, the dragon had four wings, assuming Mala was telling me the truth, and I don't see why she wouldn't. No, I believe her, on this matter at least. I've been meaning for a while now to try and find out what happened to this rider whom Drago confused me for, but I've never had the time; I didn't even know if they were still alive. But now I know. So yes, I want to go after them." He looked at Stoick determinedly. "I want answers, Dad. And we've got to determine whether or not this person is a danger to us, and that means finding them. Mala said they didn't want this Eye falling into the wrong hands, and from what I've heard I don't think I want it to either."

" _Assuming_ I allow you to go, where would you start?" Stoick asked.

"I have some ideas. I'll need to talk with Midnight and a few others first. Oh, and, Dad, there's no "assuming" I'm going on this. I already gave my word. I'm going."

"WHAT?" Stoick shouted.

"It's the best way, Dad! We gain some potentially useful allies and I get answers to questions that have been plaguing me for a long time! _And_ from what I've heard so far, I'd feel a lot better knowing this Dragon Eye thing was in safe hands, but I can't determine that from here!"

"What could this Dragon Eye whatever you call it do in the wrong hands anyway?" Snotlout asked lazily.

"According to Mala, the lenses contain maps and information on Dragons. What if those dragon hunters got this information? They could use it to exploit weaknesses and capture more dragons. Those maps could lead them to places we don't want them to go. I don't know for certain, of course, and Mala would not give me too many details, but I do know we won't find out unless we obtain it and have a look ourselves!"

"So when do we leave?" Astrid asked.

"What did you say?" Stoick exclaimed, " _We_?"

"Do you think I'm going to let him go alone, Chief?"

" **Certainly not**!" Stormfly agreed.

"I'm coming too!" Snotlout said, "You guys would be lost without me and Hookfang to help!"

"Yes, we could do with some live bait in case we ever need to go shark fishing!" Astrid laughed, elbowing Hiccup in the ribs.

Snotlout paled. " _S—shark_ fishing?"

"Now just a minute—" Stoick interrupted, "I've said nothing about consenting to this!"

"I want to come too!" Fishlegs said excitedly, "this Dragon Eye sounds very intriguing! And we might as well take the Twins along. They won't want to be left out, and they'll be entertaining if nothing else."

"Why don't you just take all the Riders then?" Stoick threw up his hands in exasperation.

"I think not, Chief." Astrid said, "We won't leave Berk _that_ defenseless. We'll take the Originals and leave the 'A' Team to protect the island." The 'A' Team was the auxiliary team of Dragon Riders Astrid had put together.

"Then I'm coming too," Stoick declared. The four younger Vikings exchanged uncertain looks. "And why not? I'm just as good a Rider as any of you, and my traveling experience is far beyond any of yours."

" **Not mine and Hiccups**!" Toothless said proudly, but of course Stoick could not understand him. Hiccup privately agreed but he was not about to offend his father by saying so.

"You're the Chief of Berk." Astrid pointed out, "It would not be good for you to be gone from Berk for long and we don't want to risk anything happening to you, sir. Berk can't afford the loss," she spoke very sincerely and the others nodded vigorously.

"And since you're all the future leaders of Berk you're all expendable?" Stoick retorted. "Do you think I'm going to let my Heir and his future—?"

"Dad!" Hiccup said warningly, glancing nervously at Astrid.

"—I mean to say future…Co-Chiefs, yes, do you think I'm going to let my Heir and his future co-Chiefs go off on some hunt to who knows where for who knows how long?"

"' **Co-chiefs'**?" Stormfly repeated.

" **Must be one of those weird human terms** ," Hookfang said.

"Dad, there is another reason why you shouldn't come," Hiccup said quietly, "the Defenders of the Wing are coming to Berk for a diplomatic visit and tour. Who can we trust more to lead that tour successfully than the Chief of Berk?"

"Gobber could do it," Stoick grumbled, but he knew Hiccup had a point.

"Yes, Gobber—the cripple who got our racing flags mixed up the other day," Snotlout sniggered.

"Gobber would do just fine!" Hiccup said sharply, "Though I'll grant he doesn't look very impressive, especially when compared to you, Dad. And I think Queen Mala would feel slighted if we made her discuss policies with someone she saw as below her,"

It took a very long time to persuade him, but eventually Stoick agreed to this. The first six Dragon Riders would go on this mission and he would remain on Berk to play the diplomat. But he was not at all happy about this at all.

"You just agreed to do this because you want to do more exploring, didn't you?" he growled at Hiccup. "And I suppose there's nothing I can do to get you not to go on this?"

"No, but—"

" **Technically yes, but we would prefer he didn't do any of those things to us** ," Toothless chuckled to Meatlug. She had her tongue out and was panting, one of her ways of showing delight.

"—I do have to agree with one thing." Hiccup turned to the other three humans. "I think you guys should stay behind."

"WHAT?" they shouted,

"And let you go off alone again?" Astrid screeched as she pulled out her axe, "I don't think so!"

"Hear me out! I won't be going alone! Mala insisted that one of her people will go with me on this! If I take five dragon riders with me, she'll insist that another five of her people come with us, to make things even. And I don't want there to be 6 defenders on this trip. For one thing, that's a huge amount of supplies to worry about and concealment will be harder. And if I lie and bring you guys along secretly, it will be awkward to explain to my companion that I deceived them. So guys, I want you to stay behind on Berk." He gave Astrid a wink. Then he turned so he looked like he was talking to Toothless, " **But if you guys decide to make some plan to coincidently run into us while we're traveling, a plan that I am completely unaware of so I have deniability** …"

Astrid's shoulders slumped. "All right, we'll stay," she growled, "but you owe me big time when you get back!"

Snotlout was about to protest but Fishlegs gave him a warning look. "We'll talk about this later," he whispered.

"Who's this person who will be going with you?" Stoick asked.

"I don't know. Mala said she would choose them."

"I don't like it," Stoick growled. "This person could hurt you—"

"And have to find the Eye alone and deal with an enraged Night Fury," Hiccup replied, "I doubt they'll try it. Not that I'll give them an opportunity, of course,"

"So when do you leave?" Astrid asked again,

"Mala and the Defenders will arrive on Berk in three days. We'll leave the day after."

Stoick looked at him fixedly. "Do you know what you're doing?"

"Inviting a tribe over for a tour, tracking down an elusive person, and retrieving a valuable object? Yes, I believe I do." He did not smile. "Mala boasted that all of the Defenders are a match for any Viking. They've already proven to be highly experienced archers. I think we'd be better off with them as friends then foes, and the best way to achieve that is to show them what we're like and do them a favor. There may come a time where we have to call on them for help."

Stoick's leadership instincts kicked in with those words. However much he might hate Hiccup going off on some long journey, his reasons for doing so were at least partially to benefit Berk.

"All right," he said, "A Chief looks after his own. I'll check out these Defender people and see if they're worth being allies with, and you will go fetch them their treasure so they're indebted to us—and find out about this person who stole it."

The Riders nodded firmly and began saddling up.

That night Astrid met with the original riders, excluding Hiccup.

"We're going with them," she said without preamble.

"Yeah!" Snotlout and the Twins cheered.

"Will the Chief allow it?" Fishlegs asked nervously, but he was just as excited.

"You leave him to me," Astrid replied, "But Hiccup is not to know about this, understood? This must look like we simply crossed paths and by circumstances were compelled to join him. That way our new allies hopefully won't take offense and we will have superior numbers while searching for this Dragon Eye."

"Do you really think they'll believe that?" Fishlegs asked skeptically.

"You'd be surprised at what people will believe," Astrid said, "Thuggory of the Meatheads believes colds are caused by the number 9 and Gobber believes in trolls,"

"What about this person whom Hiccup will be traveling with? They might take offense," Ruffnut said.

"Ruff, long journey's can either turn people into virtual siblings or sworn enemies. If the former happens in the end, we'll have nothing to worry about. If the latter happens in the end, this small deception won't make much of a difference. So, we just have to ensure we get the former result." She looked at them sharply, "Got that?"

Fishlegs suddenly started laughing.

"What?" Snotlout asked crossly.

"We're going on an adventure! Hiccup's been talking about the outside world ever since he came back and now we're going to see it too! For real this time, not just a few rocks in Viking waters! Think of all the things we'll see, the knowledge we'll gain from this! My new Book of Dragons is gonna need more pages! Oh, this is gonna be great!" He slapped Snotlout on the back so hard he nearly fell over.


	5. Chapter 5

**I Own Nothing**

 **All Rights Reserved**

 **Whew! This chapter was originally two much longer chapters, but after some complaints and my own desire to get the story moving, I decided to combine the two together and severely trim and compact it from 33 pages to 14.**

 **Please read and review! Constructive Criticism is appreciated, but please maintain your courtesy.**

 **Chapter 5**

 **The Newest Dragon Rider**

The day had come when the Defenders would arrive at Berk, and Astrid went to fetch Hiccup. When she made it up the stairs to his room and opened the door the first thing she saw was his body walking around with no head on it!

"All right Hiccup, what are you up to this time?"

"Pardon?" he asked innocently. It was the sound of his voice all right but she saw no lips producing it. Toothless was laughing loudly from the rock slab he slept on.

"Would you mind telling me what happened to your head?"

His hand grabbed something unseen and pulled it upwards, making his head reappear and his hand vanish. He grinned at Astrid's reaction. "When a Changewing loses its scales, those scales retain their color changing properties for a few days. One of our Changewings was molting yesterday, so I took the shed scales and stitched them together. Want to try? Here!" he tossed her the sack and held up his looking glass for her. Sure enough, now she was headless.

"Could you turn completely invisible this way?" she asked eagerly. That would be so beneficial in a fight.

"Theoretically yes, but practically speaking it's unlikely. But who knows? Maybe when I get back we'll give it a try. But let's keep this between ourselves, all right? We don't want the Twins getting any new ideas. Now…um, where'd you put it?"

"Right over—" she looked around the floor. "I thought I set it down—"

"Yeah, that's the other drawback to this thing. Oh leave it, it'll reappear later. Now, what's up?"

"Gustav was on patrol and spotted the Defender's ship. It'll be here in about an hour. Stoick wants you to be present when they arrive."

" **Of course he wants that** ," Toothless muttered.

Astrid held up a hand, "Don't tell me—he said 'of course he wants that,'"

Hiccup nodded approvingly. "You're getting better. Soon I won't be able to keep anything secret from you!"

Astrid put her hands on her hips. "Why? What haven't you been telling me?"

"Oh—well…" Hiccup grinned nervously as he tried to shrug.

" **Ooooh, this is getting interesting**!" Toothless grinned.

"You know I can get anything out of you if I want to." Astrid said with a dangerous smile on her face.

"Oh really? And just what are you going to do to me?"

Astrid suddenly pushed Hiccup to the floor and pulled his metal leg off.

"Hey!" Hiccup tried to grab it back but fell over. "Ouch!" Astrid leapt onto him and they wrestled around on the ground.

" **The Dragon King against the Valkyrie of Berk! Locked in combat to the bitter end! Who will come out triumphant**?" Toothless cheered.

" **You're no help at all**!" Hiccup groaned. He and Astrid were now rolling around laughing and halfheartedly trying to continue the fight. The next thing either of them knew he was on the floor and she was lying on top of him, her faces just inches from his. For a minute they just tried to get their breath back.

"Are we getting a little carried away here?" he asked at length.

"Maybe."

"If my Dad comes in right now—"

"Yeah, yeah," she got off of him.

"Then again, one kiss isn't a crime," he pulled her towards him and their lips met.

"I love it when you do that," Astrid smiled when they parted.

"I should hope so. Now give me back my leg!"

"It's your own fault!" Astrid laughed as she handed him the prosthetic. "Seriously though, Hiccup, we shouldn't keep secrets from each other. I haven't kept anything from you." Except for one thing, but he had specifically asked her to keep that from him.

"I was kidding, Astrid."

"Were you? You did keep your knowledge about this unknown dragon rider from me for a year,"

Hiccup sat up and looked at her seriously. "I didn't keep that a _secret_. I just didn't see the need to trouble you about it, and we had more important things to think about. Look, Astrid, I keep a lot of my thoughts to myself—it's a very old habit—but if any of them ever become important I would tell you at once."

She kissed him on the cheek.

" **I guess that's her answer."** Toothless remarked, giving Hiccup one of his trademark grins.

Feeling a bit more lightheaded than usual, Hiccup went to work putting the flight gear on Toothless. Then he went over to a lever, pulled on it, and the entire wall went down like a drawbridge.

" **You and the theatrics** ,"

" **Oh you be quiet!"**

"Mind giving me a lift?" Astrid asked, "Stormfly's cleaning herself at her stable,"

"Certainly, Milady," He mounted Toothless and held his hand out to her. She climbed up behind him and the Night Fury leapt off the tilted wall and soared over the village. Astrid shouted something gleefully as she clung to Hiccup's shoulders, which made him blush with delight. Sometimes, Astrid thought, it was nice to be on a dragon and not have to worry about steering it. You could enjoy the view more easily.

They headed for the docks, where Stoick and several others were waiting, along with Stormfly. Once they got close enough, Hiccup slid off Toothless and leapt into the air, releasing his leather wings that allowed him to glide downwards. Astrid took over steering the Night Fury. Hiccup soared through the air and landed gracefully right in front of his father.

"Ta-da!" he said, taking an exaggerated bow.

"You could have walked, you know," Stoick said, shaking his head.

"That's too mundane," Hiccup grinned as he straightened his clothes and hair, "do I look presentable now?"

"As much as you ever do,"

"Meaning you look handsome as always," Astrid said as she joined them.

" **Handsome**?" Toothless snorted.

"Stow the flirting, you two," Stoick said, "We've got visitors coming,"

"How do you think they'll react to Berk, Chief?" someone asked.

"They'll like it—I hope," Stoick said, glancing at Hiccup.

" **Here's one thing I don't get** ," Toothless remarked after a pause, " **why don't we just go after this Eye ourselves and leave these people alone? Why do we need to travel with somebody we don't know**?"

" **I'll tell you why** ," Hiccup replied, " **because if we want to be sure whose side these Defenders are on, we need to interact with them and probe them. And if it turns out they don't want to be our allies, we'll already have a hostage available**."

At length the boat arrived. Only five Defenders disembarked. The rest remained crouched on deck with loaded longbows visible.

"There's no need for those," Hiccup called to them. "If we had wanted to kill you we could have blown your ship to pieces hours ago."

"Hiccup," Stoick warned, but the logic of his statement seemed to reassure the concealed Defenders. They did not reveal themselves or put away their weapons, but they relaxed slightly and pointed the arrows at the deck. Queen Mala came forward, flanked by three hooded Defenders who were clearly bodyguards, and a fourth Defender who stood behind her.

"I am the Queen of the Defenders of the Wing," she said formally.

"I'm Stoick the Vast, the Chief of Berk," Stoick replied, nodding his head. "Welcome to my island. Does your ship need provisions or repairs?"

"We have enough, thank you, and our ship is perfectly seaworthy." Her words implied that if the Berkians wanted a fight it would not be against starving men and a leaky ship. She turned her cold gaze to Hiccup and nodded. "Dragon King." She gestured to the person standing behind to her. "Heather, stand beside me. Dragon King, this is Heather. I have chosen her to accompany you, as we agreed upon."

Hiccup eyed the woman. She seemed to be a few years older than him and roughly the same height. She had black hair and pale green eyes, wore silvery armor, and had a large axe strapped to her back.

"Hello," he said. She gave a stiff nod.

"I fully expect you two to work together completely and professionally," Mala said, "And Dragon King, if there are any attempts to take advantage of her in any way, I have given her full permission to castrate you."

"Point taken," Hiccup replied. He heard several men behind him gasp. "Has my accuser returned yet?"

Mala frowned. "Unfortunately not. I do not know what could be delaying her."

Stoick cleared his throat. "Perhaps Hiccup should take Heather to meet her dragon? Queen Mala, will you and the rest of your men come with me please?"

Mala nodded to Heather and she followed Hiccup. But as soon as they were off the docks Heather stopped walking and put her hands on hips, frowning at him.

"Yes?" he asked uncertainly.

But just as she was about to speak her mind, Toothless walked right up to her and started sniffing. "Um…what did I do?" she asked uncertainly.

"Nothing, he's just getting familiar with you. **Now bud, be nice and don't scare her** ,"

" **She smells funny** ,"

" **She's been at sea for several days; of course she's going to smell funny**!"

"Stop that," Heather said sharply. "If you must talk to him, I'd prefer you use Norse. Now look, since we're going to be travelling together, let's understand each other and get a few things clear. First of all, I'm in charge. Secondly—"

"May I see your axe, please?" Hiccup interrupted.

"What?"

"Your axe. May I have a look at it, please?"

"Why?" she asked suspiciously. "If you think without it I'm helpless you are—"

"You really need to relax," Hiccup interrupted again, "all that tension isn't good for you. And I'm not trying to disarm you; I just want to have a look at the weapons that are going to keep us alive on this little excursion."

"Oh," Heather slowly took off her axe and handed it to him. It had a black hilt and a blade with several deep grooves in it, making it look like pointed teeth. Hiccup examined it carefully and pushed a button. The axe suddenly split, rotated, and became a staff with an axe blade on either end.

Astrid whistled. "I could use an axe like that."

"Remind me when Snoggletog gets closer," Hiccup smiled. He handed the axe back to Heather. "Can you use it?"

"Would Queen Mala have chosen me if I could not?" she smirked. "Now show me what weapons you're bringing with us."

Hiccup pulled his shield off of Toothless's saddle and put it on the ground. Then he held up the hilt of Inferno. What he did not pull out were two knifes contained in different pockets, a bag of combustible powder, two vials of Naga-Raja acid, another knife and a picklock hidden in his prosthetic, a retractable blow dart pipe and darts, a file and picklock in his belt, his flight suit, a bag full of arrow heads and twine, and his gauntlets, which contained flammable Zippleback gas.

Toothless watched in amusement as Heather tested the shield on her arm, "feels solid," she observed, "nice and light, but durable, very good for offense and defense, I approve," She now took the hilt of Inferno and looked uncertain if this was meant to be a joke, "so…where's the blade?"

"Push that button there," Hiccup instructed.

She did and at once the blade leapt out and burst into flames.

"Whoa,"

"Yeah, how many enemies expect that to happen?" Astrid remarked.

Heather private decided every Defender ought to get one somehow. Perhaps if things went well the Dragon King would show them how to make such swords.

Hiccup spotted a green dragon approaching as he put the sword away. "Ah, this is Shamrock, a Treejumper. He's agreed to be your dragon."

Shamrock came over and carefully sniffed Heather like Toothless had. " **She doesn't smell like a dragon killer** ," he observed, " **that's a good sign** ,"

Heather looked at the green dragon uncertainly. Astrid gently took her hand and carefully led it towards the Treejumper. But before the two could make contact Shamrock sneezed and backed away.

" **Oh come on, Shamrock! You've turned down Spitelout, Gustav, Bogbread, and now Heather?** " Hiccup exclaimed.

" **I just don't feel comfortable about this, all right**?" Shamrock said crossly. " **And why should I bond with her if I'm probably going to be leaving after a week or so? I'll carry her a while, fine, but that's it.** "

Hiccup turned to Heather. "Sorry, he…well, I'm not sure how to say this gently…he doesn't want to bond with you."

"Why?" Heather asked, uncertain if she should feel insulted or not.

Hiccup sighed. "You're not the first person he's declined to bond with. He had a bad experience the first time he let a human ride him, and he's been a bit uneasy about humans ever since."

" **Especially after what happened later** ," the Treejumper said bitterly.

Hiccup sighed again. **"I should have known that. I'm sorry for sounding exasperated with you, Shamrock**."

" **Oh, it's all right. It wasn't** _ **your**_ **fault it happened."** But Hiccup's eyes glazed over as he remembered. Toothless decided to change the subject to something more pleasant, so he went up to Heather and gave her a great big lick.

"Gah! Heather, I am so sorry, he doesn't normally act like this!" Hiccup cried.

"What did I do?" Heather shrieked as she tried to wipe the saliva off her face and clothes.

"Nothing, he was just trying to be friendly! **Toothless, what's the matter with you? You nearly scared a guest half to death and you** _ **know**_ **that doesn't wash out**!"

" **I apologize for nothing**!"

This had to be one of the strangest ways to greet a new traveling companion, but at least she did not take it too badly.

Stoick took Mala and her bodyguards first to the main part of the village, and they saw the homes that, Stoick informed her, dragons had helped build. It was a bad way to start. Mala was disgusted by the knowledge that Dragons had been used in that manner, and her subordinates shared their Queen's disgust. While Stoick insisted they had _helped_ the Vikings in this, from Mala's point of view they had been used like beasts of burden. The sight of the stables served to only confirm this notion. And when they reached Mead Hall, Mala had nearly had a fit when she saw the metal impaled dragon hanging in on one side of the room, but Stoick quickly explained that they only kept it there as a valuable relic made by their ancestors. He drew her attention to a newer decoration hanging in the opposite corner: a metal Viking riding a dragon. And hanging halfway between the two was a gold and metal chandelier with the word "Berk" engraved around it.

"So we have the representation of the old ways there, the one representing the new ways there, and the two of them have made Berk what it is today." Stoick explained. "That old relic is just a reminder of what life used to be like for us, and from there we remember how bad things had been." It had been Fishlegs's idea to do this.

Mala was still not pleased or impressed but sat down in silence.

"You should know," Stoick said at length, and with firmness, "I don't like my son going on this, especially after you've accused him of theft and threatened to wipe out my village,"

She answered, "Much as I detest this plan, allying with people who enslave dragons, and the idea of using dragons for transport, I must make do with what I have. I want the Dragon Eye back. He offered to retrieve it, and I agreed." After a lot of discussion and conditions, at any rate.

"And how do I know you won't use its contents to harm Berk?" Stoick demanded.

"We have had it for centuries. We could have used it for that any time we wanted to, but we did not. And I know you won't use it to harm us because you, sir, will never see nor touch the Eye. The Dragon King will return it to us at a place of my choosing, and you will not be present for it." That had been one such condition, for the Dragon King had asked a similar question at Green Island.

"He could always make copies of the information before returning it," Stoick said. He suspected Hiccup might do just that, though not for the purpose of conquest.

"And that is one reason why Heather is going with him. She will see to it that he does not. And from what I have been hearing recently, the Dragon King is not at all like the Head of the Dragon Hunters,"

"Oh? And what do you know about the Head of the Dragon Hunters?" In fact, Stoick did not even know who that person was, but he did not want to sound stupid.

Mala considered. "We do not know much for certain. Our latest source did not even give us a name, but described the man as a viper, always lying in wait and watching until the mouse gets one step too close. He begged us to kill him once he said this. He was terrified his leader would learn he had cracked and come after him."

"He preferred death over the chance of seeing this man again?" Stoick marveled, "that kind of fear isn't inspired easily." He could not help but feel a slight tremor in his bones. Then he shook his head. They had survived against Bludvist, had they not? And whoever this Hunter chief might be, he was as much a human as Snotlout Jorgenson was.

"Well," he said eventually, "if what you said about this Eye is true, I agree it would be best to keep it safe. I still don't like it, but I won't stop them from leaving." He cocked his head. "Hiccup told me your thief had a dragon with four wings, is that true?"

"Yes?"

"Just wondering what kind of dragon he's going up against."

Heather and Hiccup were checking over the supplies she would be bringing. They were sitting in a warm patch of sunlight outside of the stables, with Astrid watching and making suggestions. On her advice Hiccup left to fetch an extra strand of rope. Toothless had gotten bored with all of this and was taking a nap. Shamrock had returned to the dragon stables to clean out his loft. Stormfly had gone with him.

Unexpectedly they heard a loud clatter from nearby. Heather at once leapt to her feet, whipped out her axe, and assumed a defensive stance. Astrid merely stood up and walked over to the source of the noise, shouting "Ruff! Tuff! We've told you a hundred times you're not allowed to fight in the armory!" She went inside and dragged the two mischief makers out by their feet.

"Heather, meet Ruffnut and Tuffnut Thorsten. Consider it a blessing if you Defenders don't have an equivalent to these muttonheads."

"We were just choosing weapons and he wanted the mace I picked out!" Ruffnut pouted.

"No, _you_ wanted the mace _I_ picked out!" her brother shot back. They tried to slap each other but Astrid held them further apart. Heather was especially amused by Astrid's bored expression.

Fishlegs caught up with them. "And just think! Five minutes ago they were congratulating each other for pulling another stunt on Mildew! Now they're—oh, he—hello," he had noticed Heather and was suddenly struck dumb by her loveliness.

"This is Fishlegs," Astrid explained. Heather gave a nod and Fishlegs turned reddish. He looked kind of cute that way, Heather thought, and then she mentally slapped herself to not think like that.

Having heard the commotion of the Twins scuffle and spotted his friends, Snotlout now arrived with Hookfang. "Hey, anybody know why Mildew's—and who is _this_ drop dead gorgeous person?"

Said person stared at him incredulously. Unlike Fishlegs, she did not find him cute in the slightest. Naturally Snotlout misinterpreted her expression. "Please don't be embarrassed, you're hardly the first woman to be struck speechless by my amazing good looks and raw Viking power—though you're certainly the best looking!"

Astrid scowled. "Snotlout, if you keep it up, _you're_ going to drop dead." She saw Fishlegs looking like he wanted to say something but was too embarrassed, and she face palmed. " **You too, Fish**?" she said in Dragonese, not wanting to make the conversation any more awkward for Heather.

"Well, I'm just…I mean, it's—it's not every day we meet new people! I'm always just a little shy about meeting new people!" he spluttered.

"Yes, so am I! Who are you, O lovely new person?" Snotlout asked, pushing Fishlegs aside so he was closer to her.

"I'm Heather," the young woman said warily. They shook hands—after Snotlout and Fishlegs had a quick scuffle to decide who would shake hands with her first. Astrid growled at both of them.

"Hey, I was just trying to be friendly and—"

"—and to tell Heather that if she needs any help around here, we will be more than happy to oblige her!" Fishlegs burst in.

"We?" Snotlout repeated.

"He's right, _I_ will be more than happy to oblige her!"

Heather did not know whether to laugh or not. "I'll keep that in mind,"

"I will too," Astrid growled, "now scram, you two! Go find Hiccup!"

"Where is he?"

"Scram!" She shook her head as the two boys left. "And you two Muttonheads can clean up the mess you made in the armory! Toothless, will you—oh Odin's Ghost—Toothless, wake up!" she kicked the Night Fury in the side.

" **WHAT**?" the dragon jumped out of his siesta.

"I need you to watch these kids put the armory back together, and make sure they don't make things even worse," she said in a tone that permitted no appeal or protest.

" **And I'm supposed to be a Beta** ," Toothless mumbled as he complied, " **nobody but the Alpha's supposed to give me orders!** "

Astrid shoved her hair out of her eyes. "Now, where were we? Oh yes, sorry about Snotlout."

"Is he always like that?"

"You have no idea," she groaned, "you know, I always thought it would be nice to _not_ be the one Snotlout was flirting with for a change, but I don't think I could wish such a thing on any woman,"

" _ **I**_ **can think of one** ," Toothless said darkly, " **but she'd probably enjoy it and flirt back. Oh thank goodness, my human's coming! Hiccup, you can watch these two and I can go back to my nap**!"

"Hiccup, you like causing destruction, you understand!" Tuffnut cried.

"Have pity on us poor Disciples of Loki who are being forced to clean up the work done in His honor!" Ruffnut pleaded.

Hiccup turned to Astrid. "Did I miss something here?"

"Just the usual," she yelled over the racket. The Twins had started banging swords together in protest of being forced to clean up.

"Guys, stop that—hey! I spent a week making that! You two put those things away right now or so help me there'll be no Mildew pranks for a month!" Hiccup shouted. Sniffing and moaning, the Twins complied. "And Toothless, if you make them hurry up you'll get to go back to sleep sooner,"

" **Fine**!" the Dragon growled, barring his teeth. The Twins went to work at once.

"You waited a bit longer to get me on a dragon for the first time," Astrid remarked as Hiccup adjusted the straps on Shamrock's saddle. Heather was sitting on Shamrock and watching.

"I had to be certain about you first," he replied.

"And you're certain about me already?" Heather asked with raised eyebrows,

"No, but since we're supposed to leave tomorrow I don't have the luxury of time," he said, "all right, it's quite simple. Just hang on, give Shamrock directions when you want to, and let him do the rest."

" **As always** ," Shamrock muttered.

"If these dragons don't need any assistance to fly, why do you people ride them?" Heather asked.

"Because some dragons _do_ need assistance to fly, because it builds a bond between humans and dragons that they'd never have if we kept them apart, and because it's too much fun," he grinned, "ready now? Let's go!"

The first sensation Heather felt was her stomach seemingly inflating. Her head jerked around a bit and her body suddenly felt weightless. She grabbed Shamrock's neck a bit harder than he would have liked. They climbed upwards, not high enough to reach the clouds, but still enough that to fall would be fatal, a fact Heather was none too comfortable realizing. Then Shamrock spread out his wings to their fullest reach and began gliding. Heather at last was able to take some deep breaths and calm her racing heart down.

A little distance ahead was Hiccup and Toothless. They watched with amusement as Heather's expression changed from nervousness to a broad smile as she looked around.

" **Well, we did it again, Bud**!"

" **How could we fail to?"**

"Now do you see why we fly on dragons, Heather?" Hiccup called.

"This is—" she could not think of the superlatives. She had already guessed what flying would feel like, but this defied all her expectations.

Hiccup suggested they fly around the island a few times so she could start getting used to it. Down below them Mala was watching through the optical scope Stoick had handed her.

"Well?" he asked, "what's happening up there?" His eyes were not as good as they once were and he could not make out details without aid.

"She seems to be enjoying herself," Mala frowned.

"And what's wrong with that?"

"A dragon should not be treated like some pet for children to play with, nor—"

"Do you see the dragons complaining about it?" Stoick interrupted.

Mala had to take another look. "No," she said reluctantly.

"Exactly. They don't mind in the slightest,"

"That's because you've made them so docile they do not know what is good for them anymore." She muttered to herself. Stoick heard it.

"Maybe," he said, "but tell Toothless he can no longer fly with Hiccup and you'll see just how 'docile' he can be," Maybe they should take _her_ flying. He smiled as he thought of how she might react. His son and Heather flew over the island to the eastern side and out of sight. Several dragons flew after them, calling playfully.

Living on a moderately sized island meant exposure to unpredictable ocean weather. Conditions were often as changing as the sea itself. It could be lovely one hour and pouring rain the next. And high winds could suddenly change direction or come out of nowhere. A strong wind came barreling from the north and swept into the group of dragons. For most of them it only threw them off a little, and Toothless hardly even noticed it. But for one Gronkle, who's wings had been bruised and strained a week back, the suddenly change was more than he could cope with. He had been flying near Shamrock, and when the wind changed he was suddenly blown right into the Treejumpers neck!

Shamrock was thrown sideways. Heather slid in her saddle and screamed. The Treejumper tried to regain control but he was dazed and winded and ran into a Monstrous Nightmare. The Nightmare instinctively swung her tail and got Heather in the chest. She would have gone flying off Shamrock had she not been securely strapped in. Still, the wind had been knocked out of her and the two of them rolled and flailed around like leaves in a windstorm.

As soon as he saw this, Toothless shouted for the group to break up. Then he and a Hotburple swooped downwards and grabbed Heather and the Treejumper to steady them. Gently the dragons helped their friends glide down to a clearing in the woods. Once they touched down Hiccup leapt off Toothless, rushed over to Heather, and began undoing her straps. "Are you all right?" he asked anxiously as he helped her dismount.

"I think so," she gasped, clinging to his arm.

"I'm really, really sorry, we don't normally—"

"Fine, I—" she looked very pale. She staggered forward, and then doubled over and threw up.

" **Not** _ **quite**_ **the reaction we were hoping for** ," Toothless sighed.

They helped her lie down and gave her some mint leaves from Hiccup's medical pouch. Thankfully they were in the woods, so nobody else had any idea of what had happened. Hiccup could easily imagine Mala accusing him of attempted murder. But to his surprise, once she recovered a little, Heather flat out told him that she was going on this mission and asked him to keep quiet about this little accident.

"You sure?"

"Of course! It was just an accident, I'll be fine!" Heather tried to stand but felt a little woozy so she gave up for a few minutes.

"Just why do you want to go on this so badly?" Hiccup asked.

"I only joined the Defenders some 10 months ago. If I succeed on this mission I will become a true Defender. I won't be a mere Initiate anymore," she rasped, "I'm not staying back because of an accident and some stomach pains,"

Hiccup frowned slightly. "Why would they send only an Initiate on a mission this important? Wouldn't it be better to send someone with more experience?"

"Queen Mala herself has called me the best Initiate she has ever seen," Heather replied proudly, "she has full confidence in me. Besides, it's customary for those who are ready to become a complete Defender to go on a dangerous and important mission. How else can their worth be determined?"

"Why'd you join the Defenders in the first place, if you don't mind my asking?"

"How'd you befriend a dragon, if you don't mind _my_ asking? Where I came from nobody liked dragons, and I always assumed it was the same for all Vikings."

"Oh? And where do you come from?"

" **Is anybody actually going to answer a question?** " Shamrock asked. He had emerged from the accident with a load of growing bruises on his head and neck. Toothless was licking them.

" **You do realize you just asked a question yourself, right**?" Toothless teased.

" **And so did you**!"

Heather at last got to her feet, with little trouble. "Look, see? I'm fine! Let's head back!"

"You sure you're up to it?" Hiccup asked doubtfully.

"Yes, now let's go, before they start to worry."

Night came slowly for Hiccup. He was all packed and still had plenty of time to spare. So he and Toothless went to the forge. He wanted to plan out his latest idea and Toothless loved napping in the warm environment, although in this case Hiccup did not intend to actually make anything.

" **Isn't it a bit late to start work on a new project**?" the dragon asked.

" **You know me Bud, I can't wait when I get these ideas** ," he replied as he started sketching. He had in mind two swords that could connect at the hilt. With practice, at one moment a fighter could have two swords and then stick them together and have a staff with blades on each end. He had gotten the idea from Heather's axe.

Gobber came in and joined them. "Yer the one man on this island ah let use the forge when ah'm not around," he remarked as he put on his hammer limb. Hiccup might have planned to not make anything, but Gobber had work to do.

"That's because you taught me how to treat it properly," Hiccup smiled as he examined the hilts of some unfinished swords.

"Aye. But if yer gonna be chief, ah best start trainin' someone else. Ah can't go on fereva, ya know, an' ya won't git ta be the smith much if yer also chief, so it's best ah get a new apprentice,"

It was hard to think of Berk without Gobber. He had been there for Hiccup during his childhood when nobody else was, and the notion of Gobber having another apprentice, while certainly a sensible one, did not really please Hiccup.

"So when're ya gonna be Chief?" Gobber asked eagerly, "I'm gonna git a fresh pair of undies fer the occasion!"

"Thank you for the courtesy, Gobber," Hiccup said dryly. He gave the smith a half hearted smile. "You know, that's one thing I've often wondered. Why did Dad make me your apprentice if I was never going to have time for it once I was Chief?"

"Cause it kept ya outta trouble, taught ya an important skill, and ah imagine 'e always thought ah'd git someone else later," Gobber said.

Hiccup snorted, "Kept me out of _trouble_? Gobber, it just gave me a new outlet for _causing_ trouble! Remember all those inventions I built that nearly destroyed the village? And now here we are again, you working on swords and me working on some new invention designed to put holes in a living creature for the apparent good of Berk. The only difference is there's a dragon snoozing in the corner."

" **Trying to snooze, you mean** ,"

The conversation halted as Gobber went to the sharpening wheel. They had both learned a long time ago there was no point in trying to talk over the noise. So Hiccup went to feed the Fireworms that lived in the furnace.

The door flew open and Stoick the Vast came in. "Whew! Well, Mala has called it a day. And that girl Heather's really impatient to get going. A bit too impatient, if you ask me. I almost think it's suspicious, but Mala is pleased to see her so eager,"

"Ah've never seen a more icy woman. Ya sure know 'ow ta pick 'em, 'Iccup," Gobber added.

Hiccup told them how Heather would become a full Defender if they succeeded on this task. Stoick looked at him sharply and asked something he had been wondering since they had gotten the Defender's message. "How do we know this isn't just an elaborate trap to kill you? She could easily do something in the wilderness and call it an accident and we'd be none the wiser."

This time Toothless opened his eyes. Gobber put his hammer arm down. Hiccup, however, looked calm and simply nodded. "I've thought of that. But if they really wanted to kill me, why didn't they just shoot me during the Dragon Race?"

"Some people get too creative with death traps," Stoick pointed out, "remember what you told me about that man Nero?"

"Yes, he tried to kill his mother with a ship designed to sink. She swam to shore and they found stabbing her worked just fine." Hiccup said with a grim smile "Dad, I'm not blind to the risks of this, but Mala seems like the type who would just kill me instead of wasting her time with some grand scheme. And if someone is waiting to ambush us, well, we've got some surprises of our own, haven't we?" He sighed and rubbed his eyes, "Boy do I get exhausted from all this secrecy and deception."

"Just go over your plan with me one last time, all right?" Stoick said.

Hiccup shook his head. "Later." Everybody on Berk was aware somewhat about was going on, but only a trusted few knew the first destination and nobody knew exactly what would come after it. Hiccup wanted it that way for the time being. The loudmouths, like Gobber, had been told at different times that Hiccup was going to India, Italy, Scotland, and Atlantis, among other places, and had been encouraged to share this knowledge. As for the Defenders, Mala had readily agreed to secrecy, but she had likely taken some of her people into her confidence.

"You're placing lots of trust in your mind—and testing my patience as a parent and a Chief." Stoick growled, "This is a really poor travel plan, I think,"

"My mind helped a dragon fly again and ended a 3 century war," Hiccup said, "And I can't help it if I'm keeping this close to the chest. Do you think we want word getting around and letting this unknown thief know we're coming after them?"

"But ya'll send messages, right?" Gobber asked anxiously, "an' if ya git inta trouble ya'll let us know, right?"

"Yeah, I'm bringing the Terrors Sharpshot and Tetry with us," Hiccup said quickly. They had established a series of codenames for places that only Stoick, Astrid, Hiccup, and Mala and some of her people knew about. "Look, let's stop worrying about this, all right? We shouldn't be careless, of course, but worrying about every possible 'what if' will only get us so far. Frankly, I think this is going to be fun,"

" _Fun_?" Stoick repeated incredulously.

"Of course! I'm about to go on a little excursion into Thor-knows-where to recover a lost device and get the answers to questions! This is going to be fun!"

"Ya always did 'ave a strange sense o' wot 'fun' is," Gobber chuckled.

" **A funny sense of what 'fun' is, you mean** ," Toothless laughed.

The morning sun had yet to throughout the Archipelago and that included the castle in one of the very eastern corners, overlooking a fjord. There the night was waning but not noticeably. The place seemed as dark and as gloomy as the long arctic winter.

"You are certain the Dragon King is involved in this?"

"Sí,"

"Excellent. Then he will find us the Eye and bring it back to us. You will maintain your cover until he does, and see to it we learn where the rendezvous point will be. Understood?"

"Sí,"

"You sound unenthusiastic, my dear. Do not tell me you have grown _tired_ of the task I gave you? Do not tell me you might be thinking of backing out? That would be most ungrateful and unwise of you. And do not forget, _you_ came to _me_ offering your services and begging for medicinal help."

"I just wish you would let me have a little more excitement."

"I, like any sensible employer, have placed you in a capacity that I deemed you were suitable for. That is what makes good business. However…does Mala expect you back soon?"

"Yes. But I can always tell her I was captured by hunters, imprisoned, and barely managed to escape with my life. She'll believe that."

"Good, good. Then I have an idea that will please you. I do not want the Dragon King to fail or die. Our future, for a change, now depends upon his very success. However, I do not object to anyone else in his entourage being taken care of. Therefore, you will go after these Dragon Riders who are retrieving the Eye for us. What you do then is your affair—as long as the King and his Night Fury survive. Should either one of them die prematurely—"

"I get the idea,"

"Excellent. Then get going. And please return the Nadder in one piece as well. Its skin will not sell for much later if it is damaged."

"Yes sir,"

"And please don't get yourself caught or killed. I can easily replace you, of course, but it is bad business to let an asset die before it has fulfilled its primary purpose, and it is an issue I would rather not have to deal with."

She left the room and made her way down the stairs. Upon them she encountered Draccus Grimborn, who followed her.

"Have you just come from him?"

"Sí,"

"What did he want from you?"

She smirked at him. "Wouldn't you like to know?"

"I'm a member of this business and his brother! I think I have a right to know what's going on!"

"Your brothers don't seem to think so," she replied, and then stopped and smiled, "but perhaps he could be wrong?"

"Of course they're wrong! I'm a useful person! I could be a lot of help to them if I was just given the chance! Perhaps I could even do better than them."

"I'm sure you could,"

"Of course I could," he lowered he voice, "Just answer me one thing. I assume he called on you to give you a new job? Does it involve the Dragon King?"

She smiled slightly and nodded.

"Whatever he ordered you to do, I can make it worth your while if you _don't_ do it. I'll give you double whatever he offered."

Her smile widened. "I'll keep that in mind."

"Of course, we should keep this between the two of us,"

"Of course. Now if you'll excuse me, I must be going. Perhaps when I get back we can celebrate our new partnership in a more appropriate setting—and you can give me what you promised."

"That can be easily arranged," Draccus said slyly.

 **Author's Note: In response to Mana's review, your idea of having Throk, as opposed to Heather, accompany Hiccup makes sense, except I did not know anything about him until Season 6 came out, and by then it was way too late to make such a radical alteration. It would have meant a 20+ chapter rewrite. I know Heather being one of the Defenders is not in canon, but I've taken a lot of liberties already and from the very beginning I was adamant about getting her into this. She's a little stiff at first, but she lightens up once she and her companions get to know each other better.**

 **Next Chapter will come out on March 25!**


	6. Chapter 6

**I Own Nothing (As if you didn't know that by now)**

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 **Chapter 6**

 **All Sorts of Visitors**

Heather's upset stomach the day before appeared to be a onetime occurrence. Once they got up in the air it was smooth sailing. There was hardly any wind, and neither human nor dragon noticed the chill of the early morning air. The clouds they left behind them were beginning to change color and the dark mass of the ocean below them began to turn lighter in tone. Islands that had been invisible half an hour before were becoming impossible to miss. A new day had arrived again, and as the sun came up Hiccup's spirits, which had already been pretty high, went up even further with it.

" **Doesn't it feel great being on the opened road again, Bud**?"

" **We're not exactly on a road, you know**!"

" **It's the same principle**!" Hiccup laughed.

As for Heather, she also felt even happier as the sun rose, and yet for her there was something disquieting as she listened to the King and Night Fury talk. She could not do that with the dragon she was riding. Sure, she could talk to him and she did, but she got the feeling that even if he could respond he would not. She felt like she was the odd person out in this group.

They stopped a few times, where they could, and Heather was grateful for it, for her muscles were not used to this kind of sitting. At the very first stop Hiccup sat down in front of her and said "All right, let's talk. Do you know where we're going exactly?"

"Queen Mala said you had some theories and wanted to see a friend to confirm them," Heather replied.

Hiccup nodded, "That's true. My plan was to have no real travel plan at all until we were away from everybody, and any potential spies." Of course, he had had to discuss this with Queen Mala on Green Island, and his father and Astrid later. In Mala's case, as a measure of trust and faith, Hiccup had told her where he _thought_ they might go, but had made it clear these were only theories and no more than one could be correct. Mala had not liked this lack of information one bit, but as she had no better ideas, and knew all too well the dangers of espionage, she had gone along with it. "But now that we're here, Heather, I'll tell you what I intend to do. My friend Midnight lives with the Bog Burglars and she's seen Stormcutters. So we're going to pay her a visit and ask a few things. Then I'll compare her information with what I already think, and we'll be off."

"And how do I know this isn't some trick?" Heather asked coldly.

"If I wanted to kill you I could stab you and throw you into the sea right now," Hiccup replied. "How do I know you guys haven't been plotting against me to begin with?" His tone then softened, "Look, I don't expect you to trust me right off the bat, I'm really sorry we've been so secretive, and I know it's not fair to you, but the fact is I don't know your tribe and you don't know mine, and there are people out there who will use what they know to hurt us. But I promise you, Heather, on my best friend's life, on this trip I'm an ally to you. And I hope you'll extend to me the same courtesy,"

Heather could see he was being sincere and slowly nodded. "I guess actions will speak louder than words in this case."

"Yeah. Oh, and there's one more thing. It's about Shamrock. See, he's from Ireland and wants to see his old nest. If our information sends us in that direction, and I have a hunch that it will, we're stopping there and we're going to have to find you a new dragon. And if these theories send us elsewhere, we'll find you a new dragon at the Bog Burglars and he's going to Ireland alone. So in a way I guess it's a good thing you two didn't bond." He paused and then said "That's all right, right? I mean, do you have any of your own ideas about what we should do?"

Heather thought a minute. "I only know Stormcutters like the cold. If you think your friend can help us, all right, we'll see them. How long will it take to reach the Bog Burglars?"

"Normally a day, but we'll take two."

As they flew on they tried to talk more, with varying degrees of success. On some topics of conversation, one of them could almost not shut up. For instance, when they discussed weapons and tactics of choice, she was delighted. And when she asked him about how his fire sword worked he went on for an hour describing the details and how long it had taken him to perfect it. On the other hand, when it came to more personal information, neither side got very far.

When they set up camp for the night on a small island that was little wider than a house, the humans went to bed early and with minimal words exchanged, and yet everyone slept uneasily and with difficulty. Heather was suddenly aware that, despite Queen Mala's threats and the King's reassurances, it would be very easy for Hiccup to kill her and make it look like an accident. And Hiccup had been a hunted man for too long to rest easy among a stranger. Even on Berk he had set some traps in his room in case someone tried to murder him in his bed. The Dragons were equally watchful that night, knowing a sleeping animal was an easy target for predators. This was not really an issue for Toothless and Shamrock, but the two Terrors kept close and stayed hidden in one of the packs, which Shamrock curled his body around protectively.

Thankfully, the watchfulness was not needed. They all woke up the next morning safe and well.

After moving on and having lunch on another island, Heather excused herself to take—in her own words—care of some personal business. Hiccup got the point and went to work packing up. As he did, Sharpshot poked his head out of a bag with a white horn stuck on his nose.

" **Boo! I'm a White Nosed Terror—the most terrible dragon in existence! Fear me, if you have any wisdom in you, oh puny mortal**!"

" **Sharpshot**!" Hiccup laughed, " **you little rascal, that's Heather's horn. We do not take stuff that doesn't belong to us, remember**?" He pulled the horn off Sharpshot and as he did so the design on the opposite side caught his attention. Turning it over he realized it looked familiar because it was a carving of his father's personal seal.

At that moment Heather returned.

"What are you doing with my horn?" She demanded.

"I was packing and the design caught my attention." He said easily as he handed it to her, "it's a nice piece of work,"

"Oh, thank you. It's the only thing I have left of my father."

"Your father gave it to you?" Hiccup asked. His mouth was going dry and his mind was racing.

"Yeah," She smiled slightly, "I remember once I was playing with it when my brother tried to jump out and scare me. I grabbed it and threw it at his nose."

Now Hiccup was really beginning to get confused and judging by the expressions the dragons had he was not the only one.

" **Heather has a horn with your father's seal, a horn that was a gift from** _ **her**_ **father**?" Toothless said, " **Hiccup, is there something you haven't told me**?

Hiccup acted casual. "So you've got a brother, huh? I've sometimes wanted a brother—before I met Toothless at any rate. So…what happened to him? Is he a Defender too?"

Heather shrugged. "No idea. He might have died. I don't really remember that part of my childhood." Was she being evasive?

"Was he older or younger?"

"A few years older," Heather said, "why do you ask?"

"Just curious," Hiccup replied. "Well, let's suit up. We should reach the Bog Burglars in an hour or two. Say, how much do you know about the Bog Burglars, anyway?"

"A bit. Queen Mala always approved of them being commanded by women. She once said if she could not be a Defender she would join the Bog Burglars,"

"Well, just a word of warning: they are called Burglars for a very good reason. So don't leave anything unattended and for goodness sakes, don't let anyone hug you, no matter how sincere they might sound."

He said little more because he was thinking. Heather's horn undoubtedly had his father's seal on it, but he recalled it was customary for Chiefs to send gifts to other islands on special occasions, like the birth of a child. Hiccup himself had received gifts from other Chiefs when he was born, most of which had ended up in Snotlout's childhood trophy chest. So if Heather was the daughter of another Chief, it would make sense Stoick would have sent her a present at some point. The other option was that Heather was his sister and Stoick was her father, but Hiccup quickly made up his mind that she was _not_ his sister. If he had had a sister somebody would surely have mentioned it before now, and there was no reason he could conceive as to why they would not.

Yet the only thing he was certain of was that he was uncertain of everything he knew. Here was yet another mystery he could not explain. He could, of course, just ask her, but he somehow doubted she would tell him everything. Perhaps even she did not know everything about it.

This was probably going to stew in his brain for a long time.

"So, the Dragon King has found himself a new woman, has he?"

"Shut up, Cami," Hiccup grinned, "this is Heather."

"Pleased to meet you," Camicazi grinned, "I'm Camicazi, the beautiful blushing bandit born of Big Boobied Bertha, boss of the Bog Burglars."

Heather was uncertain how to react to this. All she could think was the Dragon King had some very odd associates.

"So, Hiccup, what brings you back so soon? Just can't get enough of the life of a thief? Ooh! Do you need us for a heist or something?"

"No, no,"

"Or do you just really like being on an island largely populated by tough and lovely women?"

"Cami!" But Hiccup knew she was just teasing him. "I want to talk to Midnight—where is she?"

"She's at home. I'll go fetch her,"

Heather looked at Hiccup. "I suppose this Midnight is a dragon? And you'll be talking to—her?—right, so you'll be talking to her in her own language?" Hiccup nodded to each question. "Am I really needed here then?"

"Why don't you go watch our stuff? Make sure nothing gets stolen."

Heather went away rather dejectedly right as Camicazi returned.

"She'll be along in a few minutes. She's cleaning her nest out. So did Astrid say 'yes'?" She asked eagerly.

Hiccup blushed. "I haven't asked her yet,"

"What! I thought you'd have asked her the minute you got home! What's wrong with you?"

"I was waiting for the…right moment, and then something unexpected came up,"

Cami shook her head. "Hiccup, Hiccup, Hiccup, you just don't get it. You've gotta _make_ the right moment!"

"How, exactly?"

"Invite her to dinner, have only a few candles lit, maybe have Toothless provide some romantic music—"

"And ruin everything; scratching a log makes a better sound than that lizard,"

"—and then, after getting her in a happy mood, you ask. But make sure you steal her belt first so she can't walk away without risking embarrassment."

Hiccup raised an eyebrow. "And that'll convince her to marry me? By telling her it's either yes or her kilt will slide down when she stands up?"

"Absolutely,"

"I'm almost afraid to ask, but is this a tried and true method?"

"Except for the marriage part, I did it to Thuggory the last time he was here." She grinned, "His face could've passed for a tomato!"

"You're really weird, you know that, right?"

"Oh, and you're normal? And here is Midnight to agree with me," she gestured to the dragons who were now behind her.

Heather sat near Toothless and watched the Dragon King. There were two dragons in front of him, looking over a large map he had produced. One was a white dragon nearly the size of a horse and the other was a smaller and more slender dragon who was a deep pink. Judging by their behavior they were very friendly with the King, for he looked perfectly at ease talking with them. She was envious that she could not understand what he was saying. Occasionally the dragons made sounds and gestures to Toothless and Shamrock, who responded with what sounded like amusement. Clearly the dragons were making jokes and swapping stories, yet the fact that she could not understand it made her feel even more like an outsider. Still, she reminded herself, it was to find the Dragon Eye and become a complete Defender. If it meant some uncomfortable moments, so be it.

Camicazi left them after a while and went to join her. "So, what's your story?"

"Excuse me?"

"You know—how'd you end up in this Defender group?"

Heather took some time to consider, and then shrugged. "I was lost at sea and they found my boat. I had nowhere else to go so I joined up."

"How'd you get lost at sea?"

Heather just shrugged again. She would not reveal anything else. "So what are they talking about? Besides Stormcutters, I mean."

"I don't know, actually. I can only speak a little Dragonese. No human here can teach me and Hiccup only comes here occasionally. I've been trying to teach myself but it's going slowly."

"Have you known him for a long time?"

"As far back as I can remember," she smiled, "he and I would play together whenever our tribes gathered."

One line of conversation led to another and eventually, after perhaps an hour or so, Hiccup picked up his map and went to rejoin Heather. Cami had slipped away by then.

"Well?" Heather asked, a bit impatiently.

Hiccup looked around, lowered his voice, and showed her his map. "I think we can assume that this rider would not stick around in the Archipelago once they had the Dragon Eye. So they would either take it back to their hideout, or put it somewhere else where they'd believe it was safe. So if we find where this person has been hiding, we find them, and if we find them, we can then find the Eye."

" **You hope** ,"

" **Yes, Bud, I hope** ,"

"I already guessed that much myself," Heather said sharply, "So where do we find this hideout?"

"Taking Stormcutter preferences for the very cold climates into consideration, anything to the south of us can be ruled out. Since nobody seems to know where this person is, let's assume they're living isolated from everyone else, so that rules out the coastal areas of Scandinavia and most of the inland spots too. And yet they can't be living too far north because it's inhospitable up there. According to Midnight even Snow Demons and Snow Wraiths can't endure those arctic winters easily. So, taking these factors into consideration, my guess would be either the very top of Scandinavia here, or over here." he gestured to a spot that was not on the map. "I've never been further west than Ireland before, but I know Leif Erikson has gone further. I've gotta find a chart of his journey sometime. But Midnight says that northwest of Ireland is an island called 'Iceland,'"

Heather smiled. "Now _that_ sounds ideal for a Stormcutter."

"Just what I thought," Hiccup smiled back.

"Let's get going then,"

Hiccup paused. "I had intended we would stay with the Bog Burglars for the night."

" **Oh come on** ," Toothless said, " **there's plenty of daylight left and there are lots of islands out there to sleep on!** "

Shamrock nodded. " **I agree, let's get going**!" The Two Terrors also nodded.

"Outvoted," Hiccup shrugged. "All right, but first we need to send a message back to Berk. Where's my parchment?"

"Right where you left it, I imagine,"

"And that was—" Hiccup looked around, "Where's that bag, it was—DARN IT CAMI!"

They heard her laughter as she ran away with Midnight.

" **Sic 'em, Bud**!"

Toothless darted forward, with surprising speed considering the packs he was carrying, and pounced on her. She made little effort to get away, only playfully swatting him and making minimal effort to push him off.

"You see, Heather?" Hiccup said, once he caught up to them and starting prying his bag from her grip, "leave your stuff alone for 10 seconds and this pesky kleptomaniac will have gone through it like a tidal wave."

"10 seconds?" Cami said indignantly, "I only need 5! Now get this guy off of me!" Toothless stood up and she stood up, in a dignified fashion. "Now then, Mister Dragon King, will you guys be staying here for the night or will you—?"

" **I could use some help over here**!"

Hiccup spun around and saw half a dozen Bog Burglars going through the bags packed on Shamrock. With a loud shout he, Heather, and Toothless rushed to apprehend the thieves, while Camicazi almost laughed her head off.

"It's called Teamwork, Mister Dragon King!" she yelled at one point, "I do so enjoy these visits," It made her a little sad. A long time ago there had been speculation if she and Hiccup marry and unite their tribes, but nothing had come of it before Hiccup's 8 year disappearance. When he returned the speculation started again but she knew by then Hiccup only had eyes for Astrid Hofferson. While she was happy for both of them, there were times where she felt a bit disappointed he had chosen someone else.

It was evening at Berk. After making another small tour of the Village and having dinner in Mead Hall, Stoick and Mala went to his house to have a long talk in private. Skullcrusher was making his usual nightly patrol around the Village.

First they looked over Hiccup's message again. It had arrived that morning, and read:

" _Stage 1 completed safely. Stage 2 leads to Rose Garden and then Aquamarine, then to the SW—signed H and H_ " It was written in both Hiccup's and Heather's handwriting and what it meant was that Hiccup and Heather were flying to England, then Ireland, and then to an place to the northwest of Ireland. But only Stoick, Mala, and the absent Astrid had understood this.

"What has become of your other riders?" Mala asked, "I have only seen members of your 'A' Team since this afternoon,"

"I've sent the Original group out on a diplomacy mission," Stoick explained, "We've gotta keep in touch with our neighbors and all that,"

"Will they be gone long?"

"Maybe a few weeks, maybe longer," he said dismissively, "a lot can happen out there. That's why I'm glad they have dragons. No other creature makes a better bodyguard!"

Mala's gaze hardened. She understood his point, but the idea of using dragons as bodyguards—or anything else, for that matter—still did not sit well with her.

"So," Stoick said after they had sat down and he had gotten the fire going, "what do you think of life on Berk?"

"It is very interesting," Mala said after a very long silence, "On the one hand, I am glad to see incontrovertible proof that you do not harm dragons here, but…"

'Here it comes' Stoick thought, "Yes?"

Mala considered what to say without sounding offensive. "If dragons and humans had to live together, I would agree that what you are doing is the way to do it. But I remain unconvinced that this is all…necessary, and I do not like seeing dragons treated like a horse or being…well, _domesticated_. Dragons should be free creatures. They should not live with humans as dogs or sheep do. They should be in the wild, where they belong. Not in manmade stables and houses."

"You do realize that we can't protect them if they don't live with us, don't you?"

"Dragons can take care of themselves,"

"Not always they can't, and you know it. With hunters out there, it's not very safe for a lot of dragons."

"But what do they do here? They help humans and fly around and nothing more. They will grow tame and weak and lazy."

"But they're safe," Stoick pointed out, "at least as safe as any of us are."

"So this all comes down to a question between freedom and danger against safety and idleness," Mala observed.

"Yes it does. Your way keeps them free and wild, living as they have for centuries, yes, but they've got nobody to help them when a hunter comes after them, they risk starvation and homelessness, their children always face predators, and they can't even trust their fellow dragons sometimes. Our way keeps them alive and well, and maybe they'll grow a little more docile over time, but they don't lack for food—unless we all do, which has yet to happen—they have a place to sleep, can lay eggs in safety, they have friends they can trust their lives with, and they have security from hunters. How is this wrong?"

"As I have said, I do not like the fact that a proud creature has been reduced to the state of livestock or a household pet,"

"We don't see them that way," Stoick replied, "I see Skullcrusher as a partner, not a pet. And I know from experience Toothless gets touchy when he's called a pet." He gestured to some claw marks on the wall. "You see, Queen Mala, we don't domesticate them: we give them a place to live, and in return they help us in our labors. And we ride them, yes, but that's because they _allow_ us to. Hiccup's always insisting that point. He didn't even want us living with them at first, until he was certain we were ready for it." They had not been ready for it at the time, but events had intervened and they had all been compelled to make the most of it.

"And why should your son be the one to decide these things? What gives him such authority? What gives him the right to make decisions for everyone?"

Stoick shrugged. "He can talk to them. If he asks them if they want to live with humans and they say they're fine with it and we're fine with it, what's to complain about?"

"So because he can speak to them he is suddenly a God over them? Is he not taking a bit too much upon himself? I get the impression he is interfering in places he does not have any business being in,"

Stoick snorted at the idea of Hiccup being a God. "Considering how his efforts have really helped rebuild and improve the Tribes he goes to, I don't think he's interfering too much. I don't hear many complaints about being assured there won't be any dragon raids right before winter."

"But—"

"Queen Mala, if you keep questioning authority, before long you discover nobody has any authority anywhere unless they make it for themselves. Hiccup's not a god or some king and he knows it. The way you talk about him I get the feeling your tribe treats him with more reverence than we do. But all that happened was he realized there was a new way for Vikings and dragons to live, he argued for it, and eventually we listened to him. He showed up one night, declared our 3 centuries of war had gone on long enough, and asked if we would give actual co-existence a chance."

"And you did,"

"Well…it took a while," Stoick said shamefully. "There were a few pitfalls, but it's worked out in the end for most of us,"

"Except for your man Mildew," Mala said with a cold smirk.

"Oh don't you pay any attention to that man!"

"He called my Defenders a flock of fat bellied geese because a woman leads them. How can I not pay attention to such a man? What puzzles me is why you keep him around. I would have banished or executed him without thinking about it."

Stoick shrugged. "He's useful, believe it or not. He's kind of our resident scapegoat—our court jester, if you will. Since nobody likes him, they make him the butt of their jokes and complaints and everybody enjoys it. And he does grow cabbages, so there's some practical use to him." He did not mention that both he and Hiccup hated cabbages.

"There _is_ a pleasure in hating someone and watching them fail," Mala agreed, "And I am proud to say my skin is thick enough to withstand the insults from a hardheaded fool like him. But getting back to living with dragons—where is it all going? What is the end result of this life style going to be?"

Stoick thought deeply before answering. "Truth be told, I don't think we've ever thought that far ahead. I guess we're just establishing a place where humans and Dragons live together, and we expect it to always stay that way. Like how before we expected we'd always be fighting them and raised our children accordingly. I don't really think that far ahead anymore."

"A good leader should," she replied,

"I used to, but I leave that for Hiccup and Astrid to worry about," Stoick said softly, "they're the ones who've gotta take care of the future now, not me. Look at me, Mala." Now he spoke, not as a Chief to a Queen, but as a person to another person, "Only Mildew and a handful of others are older than me. I'm not going to be Chief for much longer, one way or another. Hiccup's got the visions and ambitions now, not me." He smiled slightly, "I had a few hopes back in my time. I wanted the dragon wars over, a powerful tribe, and a happy family. Things didn't go the way I expected, but I'd say I got most of what I wanted. My only real goals now are to make Hiccup Chief and find a way to get to Valhalla." He looked at her, "What exactly do _you_ have planned for your tribe?"

Now it was Mala's turn to think deeply before answering. "I would have Dragon Hunting ended for good. If that could happen I would die without regret,"

"Well, if you Defenders stick with us, I think with time we might just be able to make that happen,"

It had been well played, she thought. Even adding a few sympathetic and personal moments to try and create a connection; it had been a nice touch. But she had learned from her miserable negotiations with the Dragon King from earlier and resolved not to fall for anything. She would stick with them for the moment, but only until the Dragon Eye was returned. Then, she decided, she would free all the dragons on Berk. Yes, Berk treated them better than others might, but that was like comparing a cold to dysentery: either way, it was still unhealthy. She was convinced that whatever good intentions Berk had now, they would soon dissolve into corruption and ill treatment. So she would save the dragons before it happened. But first she needed the Eye back, or else the Dragon King would use it for leverage against her.

"Welcome to England," Hiccup announced.

"Very impressive," Heather said dryly. Indeed, they were standing on a sandy beach and groves of broadleaf trees were in front of them. It was a dull and overcast day, making everything look dreary.

They went about preparing camp. By now they could do it in a matter of minutes. The two larger Dragons were stripped of their packs and saddles so they could wash off in the ocean. Unclean wings and scales made them slower and less mobile flyers. Sharpshot watched. Tetry had departed for Berk with their letter back when they were with the Bog Burglars. The two humans went into the woods to scout for freshwater, any nearby settlements, and firewood. They had no worry about food, for the dragons could catch fish easily and they gathered berries and mushrooms when they found them, but they had to replenish their water supply at every opportunity.

"Why was Toothless grumbling like that?" Heather asked.

"Oh, he doesn't like baths," Hiccup laughed, "He knows he has to take them, but he'll make all the fuss he can about it. But he's gotten better, actually. Not too long ago he couldn't even tolerate the word 'bath'!"

Heather laughed too. "The Unholy Offspring of Life and Death is afraid of baths? That's rich!"

"How do you know about that nickname?"

"Well I _was_ born a Viking. I learned the same names you did, I imagine,"

"Oh yes. So how did you—"

"GET DOWN!"

Hiccup instantly went to the ground and not a moment too soon. A Nadder swooped right over him and a pair of bolas narrowly missed his legs. A human with a drawn sword leapt off the dragon and lunged for Heather. Heather already had her double bladed axe out and did not wait for her attacker to come to her. Meanwhile the Nadder spun around and pinned Hiccup to the ground with its foot. Hiccup, out of pure instinct, reached for the dragon's soft spot, which could make it collapse if he touched it. The dragon realized what he was doing, shrieked, and leapt into the air.

" **Much obliged**!" Hiccup said dryly as he started to pick himself up.

The Nadder's response was to fling tail spikes at Heather, which she dodged and blocked. The human, who was completely covered in a black cloak, made use of the distraction to skirt around her and go for her backside. Hiccup flung a knife at her and Heather quickly responded a swipe of her own that made the attacker back up. Hiccup by then had gotten up, whipped out Inferno, and rushed to join Heather's side.

The dragon seemed to be hesitating now for some reason, which made no sense to Heather. After all, if it wanted them dead it only had to breathe fire once, not that she was complaining. Instead she jumped towards the human and took a swipe at them. Hiccup pulled out some dragon nip and headed for the Nadder. But the Nadder gave a loud screech and back away. And then it was Hiccup's turn to screech, for the human Heather was fighting had thrown a knife so expertly it sliced right through the nip he was holding. A centimeter lower and it would have gone right through his hand.

Heather used the human's divided attention to aim a blow at their legs, missing only because the attacker had excellent reflexes. But Heather had noticed by now that the human seemed to have trouble blocking blows that came from the right. So she aimed another blow from that direction. But at that moment the human leapt back, not because of the blow coming, but because a group of dragons and humans burst from the trees, led by Toothless and Shamrock. The human flung a glass capsule to the ground and green smoke wafted out of it.

" **Nobody breathe fire**!" Toothless shouted. It was Zippleback gas, which was highly flammable. So instead the dragons waved their wings and the gas, which had risen like a small fog, dispersed. The human and Nadder were gone.

Heather took up a defensive stance, looked around warily, and took some deep breaths. It was only then that she registered just who had come to aid them.

"Didn't I tell you to take care of yourself?" Astrid Hofferson yelled.

"What in the name of Odin are _you_ doing here?" Heather yelled back.

"Hellooooo, Heather!" Snotlout grinned, "Pleased to see me?"

"That was one awesome fight!" the Twins shouted together.

"Well—err—see, Stoick sent us off to send some messages and we thought we'd see how you were getting on," Fishlegs explained nervously, his face flushed.

"Oh is that so?" She did not buy it.

"Yes and a good thing too," Astrid cut in angrily, "when the first thing we hear is you shouting and the first thing we see is you two fighting someone! Who was that, anyway? Snotlout, Twins, search the area—and be careful!" The three of them, sensing she was in a bad mood, quickly remounted their dragons and flew above the treetops.

Heather rounded on Hiccup. "Did you know about this?"

"No, I did not," Hiccup said. It was for this moment that he had told Astrid not to tell him her plans. For as Heather looked at him she saw he was telling the truth.

"Focus, you two!" Astrid snapped, "Worry about that later. Someone just attacked you—we've gotta move before they come back with help!"

Snotlout called down, "Astrid, I don't see anyone! If you wanna come up and check it out with me, I won't—"

"Can it, Snotlout!"

Hiccup turned to Toothless. " **She's right, Bud. Where's our gear**?"

" **Back on the beach. Sharpshot's watching it**."

Hiccup gestured for everyone to follow him. "We'll get our stuff and get moving,"

"We can't fly too high," Astrid informed him, "We'd lose each other in the clouds—"

"Well we can't walk," Heather cut in, "we'll leave traces,"

"And we can't fly too low either," Fishlegs added, "a lot of these trees are too close together. I doubt even Meatlug could fly easily between them."

Hiccup made up his mind quickly. "All right then, we'll set up a defense on the beach and wait for nightfall."

"That's too exposed. We'll be out in the opened,"

"So will anyone who wants to attack us," he replied.

Out on the beach, nearly a kilometer away from their original campsite, the dragons formed a circle. Hookfang and the Zippleback had returned by then. Neither the Twins nor Snotlout nor their dragons had seen anything in the sky. Astrid suspected the attacker had hidden in the woods and was waiting for night to escape, but nobody saw any good odds in searching the woods. So the dragons stayed in their positions where they could not be sneaked up on, and the humans waited with their weapons out, ready for anything to happen.

Naturally, being ready for anything to happen meant they were not ready for nothing to happen, but that was what happened. The minutes dragged, the faint sun seemed permanently stuck just above the horizon, the gray sky seemed to take forever to turn black, and all the while nothing happened to end the waiting.

"Maybe he's planning a night attack," Fishlegs suggested at one point, to break the silent tension.

"How do we know our attacker was a 'he'?" Hiccup asked.

"Maybe they're not going to attack at all," Snotlout said, "after all, we scared them off pretty good the first time!"

"Maybe that's what he wants us to think so we feel safe," Heather said grimly.

"Never fear, Heather, I'm here to protect you,"

"I don't need protection," Heather said savagely.

"You did very well in the fight," Hiccup said approvingly, "especially with such little warning,"

"Thanks," she said shortly.

They fell into silence, looking around again and again at the slightest sound or movement, real or imagined. Eventually Astrid suggested she and Stormfly try to track down the attacker. HIccup was in favor of it, on the condition that she did not go alone, which prompted arguing over who would go with her. Heather was completely against dividing the group and argued that if their attacker was smart such a move would be anticipated. After arguing back and forth Hiccup decided to defer to Heather's judgment in this instance. Astrid, in exasperation, changed the subject. "So who was the attacker, Hiccup?"

"I have no idea."

"Well, what do we know about them? Fishlegs?"

Fishlegs thought a moment. "Hiccup said they had little warning, so this person is very stealthy. He also said the attacker threw a knife into a piece of Dragon Nip, so he's obviously a skilled fighter. From what I saw, he relies on agility and speed over sheer strength. He also can ride a dragon quite well, since according to Heather he jumped off it while in flight and landed safely. He is patient because, unless this was a random meeting, which seems improbable, he managed to track you down and waited for you two to be away from your dragons. The fact that he threw bolas at Hiccup first also speaks in favor of this not being a chance encounter."

"The bolas are a standard design," Hiccup added, pulling them out and examining them, "they could have come from anywhere,"

"So they came intentionally to kill you," Ruffnut said to Heather. From her tone you would have thought she meant it to sound reassuring.

"That's so cool!" Tuffnut cried, "You guys got some super stealthy assassin chasing you!" But nobody but his sister was in the mood for his humor.

"Except he or she didn't come to kill us," Heather objected, "if that was the plan, why not just have the Nadder fry us into charred meat?"

"Unless only one of us was the target," Hiccup suggested,

"He tried to trap Hiccup and then attacked Heather," Fishlegs pointed out, "meaning—"

"Meaning they wanted Heather dead and Hiccup captured. It doesn't take a genius to figure that out, even though I happen to be one," Snotlout said smugly.

"So why kill Heather?" Ruffnut asked, "Or why _not_ kill Hiccup? Or maybe Heather was just in the way and they were only after Hiccup—"

"That's what I just said, Ruff!" Snotlout retorted.

"No, you said—"

"Or maybe Hiccup was just in the way and they were only after Heather,"

Fishlegs was squirming where he sat. "Guys, this guessing game is horrible!"

"I've got a question," Tuffnut said loudly, making the squabbling stop. "Is this person the person we're tracking? Is this super stealthy assassin person the one who stole the Dragon Eye and drove Drago Mudfist crazy?"

"Tuff, I'm impressed," Hiccup said, "that's actually a good question. And I don't have an answer."

Astrid scanned the perimeter again. Nothing. But the sky was getting noticeably darker. "It won't be long before nightfall. If they _are_ planning a night attack it would be better if we move first."

"We'll do that," Hiccup promised.

Heather suddenly laughed loudly. Everyone except Astrid and Stormfly jumped. "I don't believe this! Yesterday I'm practically on a holiday with three dragons and a man for company. Now I've nearly been killed by a person I don't know and I'm in the company of six bickering people and seven dragons!"

"And Chicken!" Tuffnut said happily. Hiccup nearly cracked his neck because his head turned so quickly.

"You brought _Chicken_ along?"

"Of course!" Tuffnut reached into his bag and pulled out his poultry friend, who clucked. "You didn't think I'd leave Chicken behind, did you? Leave Chicken all alone and helpless while I'm out risking my life?"

Astrid leaned over to Hiccup, "I tried to talk him out of it but he said—"

"No Chicken left behind!"

"—yeah, he said that,"

Heather looked unimpressed. "Well, we've got some emergency rations then,"

Tuffnut was so horrified he could hardly speak at first. Finally he got out " _Eat_ Chicken? That's the most horrible joke I've ever heard! Heather, you oughta be ashamed for yourself! That's just plain bad taste!"

"I think chicken tastes just fine," Snotlout commented.

Now Tuffnut was so horrified he could not speak at all. He would have attacked Snotlout, as was his custom when Chicken's honor was at stake, but Astrid threw him into the sand and told him to keep quiet.

The sun finally went down. Instead of waiting for the darkness to become total they flew northwards along the coast, where they could keep a low altitude. After about another hour it was dark enough to satisfy them and they rose higher in the sky and turned west. By then it was almost certain they would not be attacked save in an implausible chance meeting or one of the more immature Riders making enough noise to attract attention. The latter was perfectly possible, but thankfully did not happen. The Twins, and their dragon, had all gotten wrapped up in pretending they were "stealthy assassins" and had realized a large part of being stealthy meant being quiet. Snotlout meanwhile had the sense to keep quiet, at least until he started to get tired and wanted to get some sleep. By that point they had been flying over dark and shapeless forests for several hours and were quite certain nobody knew where they were.

Landing in a forest in the middle of the night is no easy task. Despite the dragon's having strong night vision and the skill the Riders had in riding them, Fishlegs almost had Meatlug land on Hiccup, Heather and Shamrock came down in a small pond neither of them knew was there until the Treejumper was standing in it, and Barf n' Belch managed to get a tree stuck between their heads again. All of this would have been quite comical except nobody really was in the mood for jokes. They were either too tired or too anxious, and the sudden noises, especially the loud splash and exclamation Shamrock made, only added to their apprehensions.

Still, they had landed. They only knew they were in a forest in England, and giving a more specific location was impossible. Once they had gotten the tangles straightened out they had no difficulties in pulling out their sleeping pads and settling down for the remainder of the night. Naturally they set a watch, and here an advantage of large numbers became apparent, for with so many people and dragons to take turns as sentries, everyone was guaranteed a brief shift.

"I'll go first!" Snotlout announced, either forgetting he had been among the first to complain about his sleepiness or eager to get his shift over with. Minutes later a loud howling sound peeled through the air. "Yikes! What was that?"

"Wolves," Hiccup grumbled. He was leaning on Toothless, with his arms folded.

"There are wolves in England?" Snotlout whispered nervously.

"Evidently,"

" **Oh come on** ," Hookfang said contemptuously, " **we're more than a match for a bunch of** _ **wolves**_!"

" **All they do is yap and howl**!" Stormfly sniggered.

" **And yapping and howling doesn't destroy anything**!" Shamrock agreed.

" **But I do if I'm in a bad mood** ," Toothless growled, " **and I get in bad moods when I don't get enough sleep**."

At this every dragon fell silent and agreed sleep was a good idea. Hiccup, meanwhile, suddenly realized he was in for a stiff neck if he maintained his position, so he moved away a little from Toothless. He found Astrid and Stormfly were lying nearby, so he quietly shifted his position so he could have a quiet talk with them.

"How're you doing?" he whispered.

"Fine," Astrid replied in an equally soft tone. "You're not hurt, right?"

"Like I said earlier, a few scratches, nothing dangerous," he said reassuringly.

"Good. Hiccup, do you think that might have been Adoncia?"

"Maybe, maybe not." He sighed. It was one more mystery to meander around in his brain. If his head was a bowl and mysteries were water his head was going to overflow soon.

" **Do you think Heather's gonna have a—a problem with us around**?" Astrid asked in Dragonese so Heather would not hear.

" **She'll come around."** He hoped. He could feel sleep almost upon him but there was one thing more he wanted to say before he gave in to it. "Astrid?"

"Hmm?"

He slowly reached out and put a hand on her arm. "I'm glad you're here. I don't know about Heather, but I for one feel a lot safer with you near me,"

He felt her hand take his. "I feel a lot safer when you're around too,"

" **Yeah, I always feel safer when he's in plain sight** ,"

" **You go to sleep, Toothless**!"

The Night Fury chuckled and rolled over.


	7. Chapter 7

**I Own Everything! At last it is mine! All mine! Mine! Mine! MINE!**

 **EVIL LAUGH!**

 **(Kidding. As usual, I Own Nothing. All Rights Reserved. Sigh...)**

 **Please Read and Review!**

 **Chapter 8, "The Treejumper Colony," will be posted April 8th 2017. This is no April Fool's Joke.**

 **Chapter 7**

 **Two Rescues**

Hiccup was eager to get going the next morning, but Heather told him flatly they needed water refills. "We need more supplies now that the size of the group has tripled," she snapped. "Ruff, Tuff, go find some water and fill the bags." Seeing she was in a bad mood the Twins eagerly rushed into the woods before anyone could tell them otherwise. So Hiccup sent Toothless after them to watch them.

"Now look," Heather growled, sometime after Toothless had left, "I acknowledge there is safety in numbers. I imagine you did not tell me you were bringing more people on this mission because you did not trust me and I understand that, because I would not have told you had our positions been reversed. All I want is to complete our mission and receive my promotion for it, so for all I care, you can bring as many people as you want. That being said, is there anything _else_ you've neglected to tell me about?" She glared at each human and dragon one at a time, looking disturbingly like a Cyclops deciding which human it should eat next.

Hiccup spoke at length. "Nothing,"

"Oh really?"

Astrid spoke up now. "Heather, there is nothing more. I swear, if Hiccup lied to you just now, I will kiss Snotlout on the lips," she eyed Hiccup threatening, ignoring Snotlout's look of delight. "So Hiccup, if there's anything else you've neglected—"

"There isn't," Hiccup quickly assured her.

"Are you sure?" Snotlout hinted.

Hiccup wrinkled his nose. "Positive,"

Heather's bad mood vanished. "All right then. Once the Twins get back let's get going!"

Fishlegs had been hanging his head in shame this whole time, but now he looked at her in astonishment. "Just like that?"

"Why not?" she asked, "What did you expect? You might not have noticed but I'm heavily outnumbered now, so starting a fight would hardly be sensible."

"That's good, because I don't want to fight you," he said sincerely.

" **Speaking of the Twins, has anyone else noticed they've been gone for a while**?" Meatlug asked.

Now everyone did notice. Hiccup told them to stay calm, as Toothless had gone after them. But on the other hand, he reminded himself, Toothless could make mistakes.

"Think something's happened to them?" Heather asked.

"We kinda take that for granted," Fishlegs replied uneasily.

Astrid mounted Stormfly and was about to bark out orders when Toothless came tumbling into the campsite dragging Ruffnut by her vest. She was so breathless she could not speak at first. Her clothes were covered in mud and there were brambles in her hair.

"What happened?" Hiccup exclaimed, "Where's Tuff?"

"They—they—they've—g—got him!" she panted.

"Who's got him?" Astrid exclaimed, whipping out her axe.

"Is it our Mysterious Assassin?" Snotlout cried. Ruffnut shook her head.

"No, he—we found a village nearby—they caught him, and they've tied him up and now they're shouting something—I don't know what—"

" **They were shouting 'burn him'**!" Toothless interrupted.

"WHAT?"

Minutes later they were at the edge of this village, observing the people from behind some bushes. The villagers, a motley, disheveled, and mud caked bunch, were shouting and waving their scythes and pitchforks around. Tuff was tied up to a stake, with a bundle of sticks underneath his feet, not looking the least bit concerned. If anything, he looked excited.

"They're shouting 'Witch'," Heather translated.

"Which what?" Snotlout asked.

"Not that kind of witch, stupid!" she snapped, "The magical kind! The kind Christians think worships the Devil! They're going to burn him alive!"

"Oh, what do we do?" Fishlegs wailed, "think, we need a plan, we need a plan, we need a—"

"Fish, calm down," Astrid ordered. "How about we just burst in there right now? Show them Toothless or Hookfang and they'll run away screaming,"

"Or attack with their pitchforks," Hiccup pointed out, "And they can easily kill Tuff before we get near him,"

Heather spoke up, "Hiccup, do you have a dark cloak or something?"

"My blanket's black. What do you have in mind?"

In the village the villagers were still shouting and waving their weapons while they waited for the torches to be brought.

"Burn him!"

"Before he turns us all into newts and frogs!"

"Satan Worshiper!"

"Burn them all!"

A loud shriek suddenly rang out over the mob. It was a shrill cry none of them had ever heard before and made the bravest of them cower. At first they thought it was made by Tuffnut and saw it as further proof that he was a witch, except the sound had come from behind the crowd. Almost in unison the peasants looked behind them and saw a woman clad in armor and a man dressed in a disheveled black cloak, rather like a monk, standing next to her.

"Hold it!" the woman ordered, "don't burn him yet! Don't burn him yet!"

"Why not?" someone demanded and everyone angrily echoed the question.

"I am a member of the **C** hristian Helping the Eradication of **S** orcery **S** ociety, and this is Father Haydn," she pointed to the man beside her. "We're here to see that the proper rites are performed, or else he might turn your waters to muck and destroy your crops. You wouldn't want that, would you? Here, let me take a closer look at him." She drew nearer to Tuffnut, who smiled at her despite the gag. "Let's see what this witch is—great whales of Scotland! He's got Ruckin-tuckin's disease!"

Everyone gasped and someone asked nervously "what's that?"

"A horrible mental illness that could kill us all within the hour!" she shrieked, "Quick! Everyone put a spoon in your mouth and start doing a hundred pushups! And while you're doing it, pray that God will be merciful"

She spoke so urgently and with such conviction everyone obeyed her at once. After all, what did they know about the powers of witches or Ruckin-tuckin's disease? So they all rushed into their homes and grabbed all the spoons they could find. And when they came back they found the witch untied and the woman and 'Father Haydn' running with him towards the woods.

"Right, let's get out of here!" Hiccup shouted as he pulled off his blanket and leapt onto Toothless. Without another word the dragons leapt into the air and within a minute the village and its bewildered and outraged peasants were far behind and below them. But Tuffnut, they found, was not too happy about being saved.

"I wanted to burn a little!" he pouted once the gag was out of his mouth, "it was gonna be so cool!"

"You're welcome," Snotlout scowled.

"I didn't say 'thank you'!"

"I noticed, you stupid piece of chicken wings!"

"Those are fighting words, pig nose!"

"Say Heather, where'd you learn to speak their language?" Fishlegs asked over the flying insults. "I didn't understand a thing that was being said!"

Heather, who was very pleased at how well her spur of the moment plan had turned out, replied, "I grew up on Dreaded Island. Ever heard of it? No? Well, that's not surprising, because it was one of the most remote Viking Islands ever and one of the closest to England. We'd get visits from English and French traders, so we had to learn to communicate with them."

"'Was'?" Astrid repeated.

"Yeah," Heather said and her face fell. "The Dreaded Tribe was destroyed by Outcasts over a year ago."

Toothless meanwhile flew close to Barf n' Belch while Hookfang drew away from them. " **I went after them like you asked, Hiccup. You would not believe how hard it was to follow a trail that meandering! I spotted them sneaking into the village, so I kept watch in the woods and soon saw Ruff running away and those villagers grabbing Tuff. I caught Ruffnut and rushed back to you."**

Hiccup asked something that had been puzzling him. "Ruff, what exactly did you guys do to make them think Tuff was a witch?"

Ruff looked very embarrassed. "Err—well, you know, Tuff thought it would be fun to—um—well, fun to blow up a stall or two—but only in a mild fashion!" she added quickly, for Hiccup's expression had gone from concern to pure annoyance.

"Blow it up with what, exactly?"

"Well, you know that awesome exploding powder you gave us for Snoggletog last year?" Ruffnut explained quickly, "Tuff wanted to use the last of his share here,"

"It was gonna be so cool too," Tuff moaned, "the Chicken was gonna be so pleased!"

Hiccup scowled and slammed his fist against his head. "And since those villagers had probably never seen that stuff before, they concluded he was practicing witchcraft. Darn it, Tuffnut!"

They wanted to give him triple sentry duty every night, but realized they could not trust him to remain at his post the entire time or make a good sentry. If anything, the long and potentially boring hours might encourage him to plan some new scheme of destruction. So Hiccup, after giving Heather a reprimand to never send the Twins out unsupervised again, ordered Tuffnut be put on half rations for three days and made Chicken ride with Snotlout. The former, Tuffnut could have laughed at but the latter, in his own words, was an act of pure evil.

From England to Ireland the newly enlarged group went. It turned out Hiccup had overestimated how long the crossing would take turned out to be, though the fault belonged mostly to the inaccurate maps he had based his estimates on ("amateurs" he had grumbled). He had expected a four day crossing but found they could easily have crossed England in two days, and maybe even one. When he revealed this to the others, they decided to make the crossing longer anyway and take numerous detours to make tracking more difficult. Their unknown attacker, whoever they were, had not been seen since the attack, although why this was nobody could say.

They also took longer because there was a lot to see at times. One memorable moment came when they spotted a castle during a short break. For most of the Riders it was incredible, because they had never actually seen a proper castle before.

"Whoa!" Tuffnut exclaimed, "that thing's like the size of my—"

"No, it's a lot bigger," Ruffnut said in awe, "Imagine if we could blow that up—"

"It would top even the Great _Czernobog_ explosion!" the Twins cried together.

"The Chicken will be most amused!" Tuffnut added.

"You muttonheads!" Snotlout shouted excitedly, "why would you wanna blow that up? I wanna live there! With a place like that, I could beat off any army in existence!" he looked thrilled at the prospect. "And everyone will see it from a distance and cower! I'll have a big sign that says 'Here Lives Snotlout the Super—Attack and Lose'!"

"Those outer walls must be forty meters high and three meters thick—why it would probably take a Gronkle with a fire of 8 seventeen tries to put a hole through them, if that stone work is—" Fishlegs rambled as he scribbled figures and calculations in his journal.

Astrid and Heather were discussing where the castle's defenses should go.

"Put a catapult on that side there—"

"And place archers along the wall and covering the gate—"

"And as long as they had enough supplies, Snotlout's boast might actually be accurate,"

"Assuming the attackers have inferior weapons and don't lay siege to it,"

Hiccup tuned them all out as he sketched the castle and the surrounding landscape. It was situated on a low and gently sloping green hill. No trees were around for at least 20 meters in any direction.

The Dragons were not impressed with the castle. After looking it over, Toothless snorted and said the Sanctuary had been more formidable, and the others nodded and turned away. The humans moved back into the trees as well when they spotted a large group of horsemen approach the castle. Pulling out his spyglass, Hiccup noted the riders wore heavy armor. There were numerous banners, but the most prominent one was red with images of stretched out golden lions.

"Interesting," Hiccup remarked to nobody in particular, "But lions can't beat a Night Fury,"

Most of the days were spent simply waking up, eating, and flying until the early evening, with only a few stops in between. Then they set up camp and gathered supplies, ate dinner, and went to bed after sunset. For the most part they avoided human settlements. The Witch Incident had given them the sense the English would not approve of dragons, and after the ambush they greatly desired to avoid attracting attention. Still, they did go to some of the larger villages on occasion, mostly to buy supplies and get information. Heather always had to do this as nobody else spoke the language, and someone, usually Fishlegs, would accompany her. They often came back with fruit, not just to add variety to their meals but as a means to ward off mouth infections.

During the brief leisure hours before bed each person indulged in their own interests. Hiccup usually sketched; usually a new design to work on once they returned Berk or a new object of interest. Since they saw few animals and avoided other humans as much as they could, most of these objects were rocks or plants. Fishlegs would meditate for a while and then look over his notes. Like Hiccup he kept a journal, though he wrote down his observations instead of drawing them.

Snotlout and the Twins had no interest in these things, so they played games with rocks and sticks. Most games were invented on the spot by one of them, which was perhaps why the person who invented it always seemed to win. If they were not playing or fighting with each other, Snotlout took to lifting rocks and logs for exercise (after all, he had to keep his "lady luring muscles" in good shape), Ruffnut would chat with whoever was handy, and Tuffnut would interact with Chicken, who seemed to find this very amusing. After the Witch Incident, the Twins were not allowed to leave the group without a chaperone. The others had to draw lots to decide whose turn it was.

As for the dragons, Toothless liked to watch Hiccup and occasionally tried to draw himself, with a tree limb in his mouth. Meatlug usually hunted for rocks to eat, sometimes also turning up edible roots and once she accidently broke into a badger's burrow, which the badger was none too pleased about. Hookfang preferred to go to sleep early, as he had no interest in exercise and could not set himself on fire, least he burn the forest down. Shamrock would climb trees and stay up there for long periods of time. Sharpshot the Terror's favorite pastime was sleeping in somebody's lap while they petted him, something everyone vastly preferred over his second favorite pastime: hyperactively chasing after whatever caught his attention. As for Barf n' Belch, they would either mess with their riders, or hang themselves from a tree and bonk their heads into each other. Nobody asked why; it just happened.

Astrid, the most militant of the group, constantly patrolled the area, checked supplies, and saw that weapons were sharpened and polished. Stormfly would always join her on patrol and would often go out alone if Astrid was doing something else. Heather assisted Astrid as well, sometimes. If she was not helping her or not looking after her own gear, she usually leaned against a tree and did some thinking.

She honestly did not mind the fact that the others had joined this excursion without informing her first. Her earlier statements of being outnumbered and a lack of initial mutual trust still held, although truth be told she had had to force herself to act pleasantly at first. However, she found she was enjoying their company, for the most part. She liked talking about tactics and weapons with Astrid, the Twins were interesting and amusing if nothing else, Snotlout was…well, good for a laugh, and she hoped that in a fight he would prove a strong ally. And then there was Fishlegs. For some reason, a reason she could not explain to anyone, least of all herself, she found him sweet. When he examined something he would pay attention to nothing else, and when he made some new observation, regardless of what it was, he would react as though it was the most important discovery ever made. She found this rather charming. On top of that, if she was being honest, she could not help but smile at how nervous she could make him. Once, he came over to ask if she wanted to look over his notes, but he turned bright red and mostly stammered before hurrying back to Meatlug. Later she asked him to show her his notes and they spent nearly an hour looking over them and discussing various points. He had very good penmanship, she noticed.

As for the Dragon King (she sometimes had to remind herself to call him 'Hiccup'), he both interested her and worried her, because he probably had the most mood changes of any of them. Sometimes he seemed brooding as a thundercloud and sometimes he seemed carefree as a butterfly. While he was usually polite and reasonable, if also sarcastic, she was never quite sure where she stood with him. At any rate, she was wary of him at times, and she sometimes wondered if he was just as wary of her. Sometime the way he looked at her made her uneasy. It was as if he was a watchdog, always watching and waiting, though what he was waiting for she could not imagine.

So that was how the days usually went, but things could and did change in the blink of an eye. The castle had provided a nice distraction, and Meatlug's encounter with the badger had been a startling way to end a long day. Another incident with animals came up before they left England. Heather and Tuffnut had gone to a town named Bristol for some information. Chicken had gone with them, and some thief had decided it was time for lunch. It was quite a fight, with Chicken winning. A knight had attempted to break it up but Chicken had hissed at him so viciously the knight ran for it. This, however, angered some of the knight's companions and they had had to run for it and fly away in a hurry once again.

After these mishaps in England it was almost a relief to arrive in Ireland. But the relief was also mixed with a bit of sadness and uncertainty. If they stuck with the plan, Shamrock would be leaving them soon and they would have to find Heather a new dragon, even though they had not seen any so far. She and Shamrock had gotten along well enough, and perhaps with more time they might have bonded fully, but Shamrock was really more anxious to see his old home.

King William sat on a throne in one of his castles and listened to reports from his various Barons and Clergymen. There was an invasion threat here, a failed crop there, an adulterous monk here, an unfair tax and rebellion threat there; just another typical day in the life of a King. He was also entertaining several dignitaries at his court today, including Cardinals from Rome and the beautiful daughter of a Spanish Nobleman, who had shown up alone the night before, explaining she had been unhorsed and separated from her escort during a bandit attack. Even this in itself was not unusual for, sad to say, bandits and rebels seemed to be all over England, which the King was working hard to put an end to. His knights had been unable to locate her escort so she had remained in the castle as a guest. She turned out to be a very charming and attractive woman (certainly most of his Barons thought so).

"Repeat the message," he ordered a page.

"Sire, several dragons were spotted flying over England, and they had humans on their backs! They were last seen heading westwards."

"I can add to that, Sire," Another man came forward, "Peasants who till some of my lands came to me saying they nearly burned a witch who escaped on a dragon." He then gave the King the date and location where this had taken place.

"So they are heading westwards," the King said, "to Ireland? Maybe to Cornwall? But why?"

Nobody could answer him. Dragons had grown uncommon in England due to hunting and few people ever interacted with them. All that could be done for now was to send out horsemen westwards and try to track down these dragon riders.

The following morning the beautiful Spanish woman could not be found anywhere in the castle or the surrounding area.

On their first night in Ireland, just as the Riders and Dragons had settled in, a loud howling sound rang through the air, making everyone jump off their sleeping pads.

"Wolves!" Snotlout screamed. "They've caught us!"

The sound continued. "That's not a wolf cry," Fishlegs said, "that's a human! No—a lot of humans. They're shouting something—it sounds like they're celebrating,"

" **Probably had too much to drink** ," Hookfang groaned dismissively, " **Just tell them to shut up and let me sleep**!"

But the others were curious and wary, so they decided to go take a look. They followed the noise and came to a very small and run down village, where all the villagers were gathered en masse. They were clapping, dancing around, cheering and shouting. 10 men were carrying something tied up in a very heavy net.

"That's a dragon!" Tuffnut exclaimed over the noise.

" **That's not just a dragon** ," Stormfly growled. " **That's a Razorwhip**!" Her claws clenched the dirt below her.

"The poor thing," Heather said, "I'll bet they're going to kill it! C'mon, guys, let's rescue it!" she made to stand up but saw nobody else was moving. The humans were looking at their dragons uncertainly. "What? What's the matter? Dragon King, you said I need another dragon to ride! Well, there's another dragon!"

Toothless looked at the others warily. It had been a Razorwhip that had helped kill their friend Grimm, had taken over their nest, and forced them to destroy it and any flightless dragons in it—including Stormfly's hatchlings. Toothless had killed that particular Razorwhip himself, but the memories still lingered and still hurt all of them. And their Riders knew this.

" **Guys** ," Hiccup said, " **we can't blame an entire species just because one member did something really horrible** ,"

The villagers shouted happily as the butcher came forward with a giant axe. This dragon had been causing them problems all year, frequently eating their livestock and damaging homes, stables, and crops in the process. So they had set a trap for it, caught it, and knocked it unconscious before carrying it back. Now they would cut off its head, rip the metal scales off the body, and roast the rest over a fire! There would be feasting, drinking, singing, and dancing tonight.

And then a masked man dressed in black dropped right in front of the butcher. Several more humans landed next to him. The butcher, a large beefy man, uttered a war cry, raised his axe, and lunged for the first human in front of him. The villagers cheered and some grabbed tools to aid him. But then a loud roar went up from behind them and a flock of dragons charged into the mob, waving their tails, beating their wings, and screaming at the top of their lungs. To see in the dark of night so many dragons, with burning fires glowing in their mouths and one of them completely lit on fire, was downright terrifying. Meanwhile, the masked man in front of the butcher pulled out a sword that burst into flames. The butcher ran for it, but only after receiving a strong kick in the stomach from one of the other humans who, to the ruin of the butcher's reputation, was plainly a woman.

While this was going on the other humans had pulled out swords and were cutting at the ropes of the Razorwhip, which was regaining its senses. One villager threw a rock and by lucky chance got one of the dragon-loving rapscallions in the head. He swayed a moment and then fell to the ground.

Once the ropes were broken some of the dragons swooped over, grabbed the dragon and the unconscious man, and carried them away. The villagers screamed in rage and their anger made them braver. They grabbed whatever dangerous objects they could find and charged at their attackers. Their attackers ran for it, as did the remaining dragon, which was so black it was almost impossible to see. The villagers pursued but froze at the sight of a green fog appearing in front of them. They heard a slight clicking sound and the fog exploded in a flash of fire.

By the time the villagers had recovered from the shock and horror enough to inspect the area, their attacks were long gone.

"Darn it Tuff!" Ruffnut shouted at her unconscious brother as they laid him on the ground. "First you nearly get burned at stake and now you take a rock to the head! You have all the fun! Don't you agree, Chicken?"

"Bi-gowk!"

It was clear that Tuff would have a massive headache when he woke up, which could be at any time, but otherwise he looked just fine. They all visibly relaxed at this and decided they liked him better this way. He looked so peaceful and benign for once.

" **Did you see how scared they were when I lit up**?" Hookfang excitedly said Stormfly, " **You could have knocked them all over with a duck feather! I do so love watching people's reactions!"**

"Hey, Astrid, nice kick!" Heather laughed, "Did you see the man's face?"

Astrid did not look quite so pleased. "I mistimed it. I should have done it _before_ Hiccup pulled Inferno out. It would have had a better effect that way."

"Oh come on, Astrid, it worked just fine!" Hiccup laughed, "Now, shall we have a look at our new friend?"

The adrenaline they were all feeling from the fight abruptly wore off.

The Razorwhip was awake but did not seem to be aware of its surroundings. It looked like it was in some kind of stupor, one that it was quickly snapping out of. At Astrid's command everybody backed away from it. At Hiccup's suggestion Heather stood in front of the dragon, her arms raised and her axe put aside. Toothless stood next to her.

Once it realized there were humans and dragons in front of it, the Razorwhip's first instinct was to blast everyone to pieces and flee, but it unintentionally made eye contact with Toothless.

" **I'm your Beta now** ," Toothless said gently.

" **As you wish** ," the Razorwhip said in a monotone voice. But Toothless had only done this to ensure the Razorwhip would not attack anyone. Otherwise, he had no intention of forcing his will upon it, so he backed away and relaxed his mind powers, giving the other dragon its mind back.

The Razorwhip shook itself and shuddered. It was then that it noticed Heather slowly approaching, with one hand outstretched. She showed no trace of fear. That was odd. In the Razorwhip's limited experience around humans they always looked terrified.

"Hey there, big guy," Heather said gently.

"She's a female, Heather," Hiccup corrected.

"Oh. Sorry. Hey there, girl," Heather said, mimicking how Astrid talked to Stormfly. She drew closer but the Razorwhip recalled it had just been in a trap. Was this another trick? Granted, if they wanted to kill her they could have already, but maybe they had some other scheme going. So she growled.

Heather abruptly stopped. "What do I say now?"

"Try being sympathetic," Fishlegs suggested.

"Sympathetic about _what_? I don't know anything about her!"

"You know she was just tied up and nearly killed." Hiccup suggested, "Look, what you really want to do is get her to lower her guard,"

"And just how do I do that?"

"By lowering your own first,"

Heather nodded very slowly and sensed what she ought to say, though she did not want to say it. She worked very hard to ignore everyone but the Razorwhip. "They caught you and tried to kill you, didn't they?" she asked as she drew closer, "I know what that's like. I was living happily at home with my parents and then one day we were attacked by men called Outcasts. They killed a lot of us, dragged the rest of us onto their ships, and burned my village to the ground. Then they took us back to their own island and locked us up."

Her focus was entirely on the Razorwhip now; no one else registered in her mind. "I don't know how long I was in there. But everyday everybody wondered who would die next, they would come down and beat up someone, and every time someone passed my cell I thought it was my turn. But you know what? I swore I'd get out of there, and one day I did. Just like you." She was almost a meter away now. The Razorwhip was looking at her as if it understood everything she was talking about; as if it wanted to share her pain. "And later I learned my home was gone forever, my parents and friends were all dead or missing, and I was alone in the world. Are you alone and homeless too?"

Hiccup had turned away during her story and slipped into the shadows, while the others listened in horror. As for the Razorwhip, she looked into the human's eyes. In those eyes she saw a person who was lonely, who wanted a home, and who wanted to protect what she cared for. She looked into Heather's eyes and saw herself reflected in them.

So she moved forward and let Heather's hand touch her horn. It just felt like the natural thing to do.

"She says her name's Windshear," Fishlegs announced, "congratulations, Heather. You've just bonded with a dragon."

Heather may have bonded with Windshear, but that was not the end of the night's events. Her brief story had left everybody curious to hear more, namely how she escaped. A bit reluctantly she explained.

"We noticed that for the past few days there were only ever two guards around. We deduced the rest must have gone off on some raid—"

"Was this about a year ago?" Hiccup suddenly interrupted. He was standing by a tree with his back to them.

"Yeah, I think so. Why?"

Astrid made the connection too. "Because then they _did_ go off on some raid—a raid against Berk! Alvin brought the Outcasts to join up with Drago Bludvist, and the end result was the battle on Berk that killed both of them and destroyed the Outcast tribe—"

"Along with dad," Snotlout mumbled.

"Are you saying that we unwittingly aided Heather's escape?" Fishlegs asked, looking delighted.

"If that's the case than, thank you…sort of. Yes, we broke out. Morton, our blacksmith, grabbed one guard, killed him and took his keys, and unlocked all the cells. There were several ships left in the harbor so we stole them and sailed off," she smiled. "I'll never forget how happy I felt at that moment." Her smile vanished. "But we jumped from one disaster into another. A storm hit and our ships were scattered. A lot of people went…overboard, and then we lost our mast and most of our oars, so after the storm we could only drift. Bit by bit we—" A few tears came to her eyes, which she quickly brushed away, "We—well, anyway, I was the last person left on my ship—about all I could do by then was lie down and pray for death. And then one day, out of nowhere, the Defenders of the Wing found me." She sat down next to Windshear. At this memory she leaned against the Razorwhip and the dragon gently wrapped her tail around her and made crooning sounds.

Nobody spoke for a little while. At last Ruffnut said "did you ever find the rest of your tribe?"

She shook her head. "The Defenders first took me back to Dreaded Island. There was nothing left of it. I can only assume the other ships were lost. Queen Mala then let me join them. I had nowhere else to go." Her eyes closed and she was breathing heavily. Astrid gently put a hand on her shoulder.

Another long silence prevailed. This time it was broken by Hiccup. "Heather, I've been wondering something for a while. You said your horn was given to you by your father. Speaking as a blacksmith and a craftsman, that's a really fine and likely expensive piece of work. So was your father a man of high status?"

"I don't know, actually. Oh, I've never clarified this, have I? I wasn't born on Dreaded Island. I don't remember where I was born or who my real family was. All I do know is I was on a ship that was wrecked in a storm—I seem to have a tendency for those, don't I? I was just a child then, and I only survived thanks to the efforts of some man whose name I never learned—he died not long after we were rescued. My adopted parents told me that all he said before he died was my name was Heather. Nobody knew where I was from and one couple had always wanted a child, so they took me in. And I stayed there until the Outcasts came. So anyway, I'm pretty sure this horn was given to me by my _real_ father, as in the man married to the woman who gave birth to me. I know nothing else about him."

Hiccup nodded and spoke little the rest night.

The other Riders decided going into further details would be too painful for Heather, so they left it at that and started turning in, finally. Tuffnut was still unconscious.

Astrid had the first watch, but Heather could not sleep so she joined her.

"Astrid, I don't mean to pry, but I thought you looked really upset when I was talking about my father—"

"I was remembering mine," Astrid said shortly.

"Is he—?"

"Drago Bludvist killed him in battle. I never even got the chance to say goodbye."

"Oh. I'm really sorry, Astrid."

Astrid stared up at the sky. "Yeah."

"All the time my parents were alive, I never thought the Gods would take them so suddenly. I just never thought about it."

"Me neither, really," Astrid answered, "I thought my father would live forever. I never imagined anyone could beat him in battle,"

"My dad was never in battles much to begin with; he was a carpenter," her smile was fleeting. "I last saw him during the storm. He was screaming for me and I was screaming for him, but I couldn't do anything and then he went overboard." She screwed her eyes shut as if that would blot out the memory.

As they watched they swapped stories about their fathers. Astrid recalled her father teaching her how to use an axe, while Heather told her about the time her father tried to use an axe to chop a tree down only to imbed the axe in the tree so deeply that he could not pull it out. They both had some good laughs over this talk, but eventually things became too painful again and Astrid told Heather she should go get some sleep.

The dragons were not sleeping yet. They had gathered a ways away from the humans, because they wanted to have a talk with Windshear, who wanted to know exactly what she had bonded herself into.

" **So what exactly do you do**?" she asked after they had introduced themselves and explained who their riders were.

" **We help our human friends travel and keep them safe** ," Toothless said at length. It seemed an apt description.

" **And we do not take kindly to those who try to harm them** ," Stormfly added dangerously.

" **Yeah, we bail them out when they get into trouble** ," Hookfang bragged.

" **That's rich, coming from you** ," Shamrock retorted, " **how many times have you set Snotlout's pants on fire now**?"

" **I have to keep reminding him who's in charge! It's not my fault he keeps forgetting and assuming it's him!** "

" **We all live together on Berk Island** ," Meatlug went on, " **that's where our hatchling friends live. We're really just their roommates** ,"

" **Who happen to breathe fire, fly, and have four legs** ," Shamrock added.

" **Speak for yourself** ," Stormfly muttered.

Windshear found this all fascinating. " **You mean you live where humans and dragons co-exist? That's crazy! How soon can we go there**?"

Toothless spoke up now, " **Here's the thing. We're on a mission to find another Dragon Rider and we're probably not returning to Berk anytime soon**." There was also some unvoiced doubt as to whether Windshear would be going to Berk at all. After all, she had bonded with Heather and Heather did not live on Berk. In fact, the more Toothless thought about it, the more uncertain the Razorwhip's future looked. But he kept this to himself and instead asked Windshear if she had seen any Stormcutter's recently or knew anything about them. She answered in the negative.

After Windshear decided to get some sleep, Toothless turned to the others. " **So, what do you think**?"

" **I don't trust her** ," Stormfly growled.

" **Is that because she's a stranger or because she's a Razorwhip**?"

" **I think we'll get along with her just fine** ," Meatlug said.

" **You would** ," Hookfang said, " **She certainly seems nice but can we be sure of her? After all, Adoncia was nice to the Hatchling until he refused to mate with her** ,"

" **Windshear is not asking any of us to mate with her, Hookfang** ," Meatlug said sharply.

" **And don't bring up that woman and what she did to my human** ," Toothless growled, " **he's been through enough without you reminding him about** _ **that**_!"

" **I'm just saying, appearances and first impressions can be deceiving. And don't forget, it was a Razorwhip that nearly made us lose the war last year** ,"

" **I** _ **believe**_ **we haven't forgotten that, Hookfang. Nor have we forgotten that I was the one who defeated it** ," Toothless said coldly, " **After being dragged through the ocean by an eel, and without the ability to fly, I fought with it and I won."**

" **And do you expect me to just sit still while a Razorwhip—the creature that killed my** _ **hatchlings**_ **—shares food with us, flies with us, and even interacts with Astrid**?" Stormfly demanded.

Toothless got down on his hunches, a clear sign of aggression. " **Yes, Stormfly, I do. You heard what Hiccup told us. Windshear did not kill them, and blaming her for their deaths won't bring them back or help anybody, nor is it fair** —"

" **Fair! What was fair about that monster killing Grimm? What was fair about those Vikings killing my mate? What was fair about that madman killing Astrid's sire**?"

" **What was fair about me losing my tailfin**?" Toothless snapped, " **Do you see me hating Hiccup for it**?"

" **That's a tailfin, not a life**!"

" **It** _ **would**_ **have been my life if it hadn't been for Hiccup! Good grief, you talk about unfairness, look at all the unfairness** _ **he's**_ **been through! His own sire tried to kill him and they share the same house now! So when he advises us to not blame all Razorwhip's for what one did, that's exactly what we are going to do!"** He glared at Stormfly, " **Do I make myself clear?"**

" **Yes,"** Stormfly spat.

" **I'm not asking you to become her best friend—I only want you to treat her as you would any other dragon. I'm asking that of all of you."**

" **Don't worry about me. I won't be around her for much longer anyway,"** said Shamrock.

" **I already am treating her that way,"** Meatlug replied.

" **I can do that** ," Hookfang shrugged.

Stormfly only gave a curt nod. Barf n' Belch both nodded a bit more enthusiastically. Sharpshot had slept through the whole meeting. With that the council broke up. Stormfly went to make another patrol while Hookfang and the Zippleback went to find their humans and go to sleep.

Meatlug wanted to share a few words with Toothless. " **Stormfly's still really hurt about her hatchings and mate, you know that. And Astrid's all she has left now. She'd do anything to keep her safe."**

" **I know**." Toothless said bitterly. " **But Windshear had nothing to do with any of that. And since she's bonded with Heather, we're kind of stuck with her now. It'll be easier if we all try to get along**."

" **That poor girl. Heather, I mean. But maybe having a dragon for a friend will help her.** "

" **It's strange** ," Toothless remarked, " **I get the impression she may have suffered worse than Hiccup when we were in Spain, yet she behaves a lot differently than he did after I got him out of there. She seems able to handle her losses better.** "

" **Everyone reacts differently** ," Meatlug said, " **and Heather has probably been taught to hold her emotions in check.** "

" **Very likely, given what that Mala woman is like**." Toothless shuddered.

" **You know, when the Hatchling told Heather to lower her own guard to get Windshear to lower hers, I wondered if he was speaking from experience** ,"

" **He was** ," Toothless replied.


	8. Chapter 8

**Personal Profitable Possession Positively Prohibited**

 **Rights Resolutely Reserved**

 **Rave Reviews Requested, Really Relished**

 **Salutations Selective Searchers Seeking Suitably Satisfying Stories**

 **(Now repeat 6 times)**

 **In response to Mana's review, Draccus Grimborn is entirely made up.**

 **As to suggesting Tuffnut might wake up and be delusional—more so than usual, anyway—well, just read:**

 **Chapter 8**

 **The Treejumper Colony**

Tuffnut woke up the following morning. The first thing he saw was Windshear's face right in front of his.

"Whoa!" he said groggily, "Razorwhip! This is the best dream ever! I can almost reach out and—I _can_ reach out and touch it!" For he _had_ reached out and _was_ touching it, "So cool—no, so cold—cold, hard, metal scales—the perfect protection from gigantic explosions!"

" **I kinda like this guy** ," Windshear said.

"Oh, yes, I Tuffnut Thorsten take you, whatever your name was, to be my—oh hey, Heather! Hey Sis! Look at this beautiful metal dragon I am about to take for my wife!"

" **Wait—what**?"

The women just looked at Tuffnut in amusement. Tuff's face screwed up in contemplation. "Hey—what are you two doing in my dream? This is my wedding and I don't recall inviting _you_!"

Ruffnut snorted, " _You_ getting married? HA! That'll be the day!"

"And marrying a _dragon_? You surprise me, Tuff. I never thought you were _that_ kind of guy," Heather sniggered.

"Well I guess anything's possible in a dream," Tuffnut replied casually.

"Only problem is this isn't a dream," Ruffnut said,

"Hey, Father Haydn! You've got a marriage ceremony to perform!" Heather called to Hiccup, who mysteriously went deaf.

"Wait—this isn't a dream? But then that means—AUGH! RAZORWHIP ATTACK! HELP! IT'S GONNA KILL ME ALIVE!" Tuffnut screamed as he dashed into the woods behind him.

"Tuff, don't run that way, that leads right to a bunch of—" a loud cry of pain rang through the air. "—nettles," Heather winced.

"You know, Snotlout, I'm flattered you offered to help patch me up," Tuffnut said as Snotlout pulled a nettle out of his face. "OW!"

"You're welcome, Tuff,"

"I AM VERY MUCH HURT!"

"That should do it," Snotlout announced, "now, just tilt your head this way and stay still—" he quickly tied a bandage around his head.

"MFFPHHHD?" This was the only sound Tuffnut could make because the bandage around his head kept him from moving his mouth.

"Don't worry, Tuffnut, it'll come off with the rest of your bandages." Snotlout said benignly, like a nurse to a child. "Meantime, you won't be able to talk,"

"MFEPHDSLKGSDKL!"

"Now don't use that kind of language with me, young man, or I might just turn your head into mutton for real!" Snotlout said with pompous sternness. Tuffnut could not speak but he was thinking of revenge.

Sitting on Toothless, Hiccup shook his head.

" **Next time we take a trip, let's leave those clowns behind,"**

" **I heartily agree with you, Bud** ,"

They followed the coast of Ireland for three days. From their position they could easily see the coast of England to the East. Shamrock was their guide and was impatient and intolerant with anyone who wanted a break. Even Toothless, normally the fastest and strongest flyer of them, had to tell him to slow down a little, at length threatening to tie Shamrock to Meatlug and have him tow her through the air. Meatlug was willing to do this but Shamrock got the point and went slower.

Perhaps he flew so swiftly because he no longer was carrying the weight of a human. Heather was now riding Windshear. While Snotlout had patched up Tuffnut's nettle wounds, the rest had been transferring Heather's flight gear from Shamrock to Windshear. This had called for a lot of adjustments, owing to the size and build differences of the two dragons. It did not help that Windshear was so excited to try this new experience out that she nearly tore the saddle apart with her tail spikes. In the end, mostly thanks to Hiccup's inventive skills, the new arrangement was rather crude looking but as good as they could make with what they had and the time they had. Once in the air Heather and Windshear took to their new circumstances like ducks to water.

Much of the coast was rocky. There were lots of tall and steep cliffs that went down into the sea like hundreds of giant pillars stuck together. On top of the cliffs were long green grasses that grew in every direction except straight up. Shamrock explained that the Treejumper colony lived in a network of caves in some of the cliffs. When Hiccup translated this for the others, Snotlout looked confused.

"I thought we were looking for Treejumpers! I haven't seen a single tree all day! What's up with that?"

"He says the interior of Ireland has some woodlands and that's where the original nest was."

"What made them move?" Ruffnut asked.

"Humans," Hiccup said grimly, "several centuries ago, they wanted to build a village right where the original nest was, so they drove the Treejumpers out. The dragons chose the caves on these cliffs because they hoped no humans would want to settle there. It's a common story for a lot of nests,"

It was a few hours after this conversation when they suddenly were compelled to stop and hover. Another Treejumper was flying towards them. This dragon was considerably darker green than Shamrock and slightly shorter. It flew up to their group warily and looked completely flabbergasted.

" **Where the heck did you all come from**?" She demanded, for it was a she-dragon. Unlike male Treejumpers, she had horns.

Shamrock had been hovering behind Hookfang, but now he flew to the front of the group. He examined the Treejumper for a minute and said " **Don't you recognize me, Cherry-Rose**?"

The Treejumper's eyes widened. " **Why bless my dandelions! It's Shamrock-17! Where have you been**?"

Shamrock sighed. " **I forgot how much I hate that name. Just call me Shamrock, all right? I've been all over the place and decided I'd stop by for a visit. And these are my friends. They're just passing through and need a place to stay for the night** ,"

Cherry-Rose clearly wanted to find out more but only said " **You had best all come with me then** ," she said, " **I'll take you to the Matriarch,"**

" **How's she doing?"** Shamrock asked.

" **She's as fun and dangerous as ever. I'm sure she'll be pleased to see you again! And your mother too!** "

" **Somehow I doubt that** ," Shamrock mumbled, " **Lead the way** ,"

"Shamrock-17?" Astrid asked as they followed the two Treejumpers.

"He was 17 days old when he jumped over his first tree," Hiccup explained, "Treejumpers include those numbers at the end of their names—except for Shamrock because he always hated it that way,"

"Who's the Matriarch?" Fishlegs asked eagerly, "Is that what they call a Beta?"

Hiccup put the question to Shamrock, then translated the answer for everybody. "The Treejumper Matriarch is the leader of the nest, but has no powers like a Beta does. She's their equivalent of my Dad,"

"So Toothless could take over this nest?" Snotlout asked eagerly.

"In theory yes, but why would he want to?"

They flew down towards the cliffs. Following the coastline they went around an exposed projection of rock and, when they turned inwards, they saw a multitude of Treejumpers flying around in front of them. The sight reminded Heather of cliff dwelling birds, while it reminded Hiccup of how his Dragon Sanctuary used to look, a reminder that made him smile sadly. The Treejumpers were mostly hunting. They would jump off the cliffs and dive into the ocean, then come shooting out of it and fly up to their caves with a fish in their mouths. But now they became aware of visitors. The sight of strange dragons was nothing new. A handful even recognized Windshear. But seeing humans on their backs was so unheard of that nearly the entire flock emerged and flew over to them.

"Are they going to attack us?" Fishlegs asked nervously.

"Not at all," Hiccup called back, "If they were we'd already be fried to a crisp. They just want to have a look at us and make it clear they have the advantage if _we_ want to attack." Indeed, upon closer inspection, they could see the Treejumpers looked more curious and intrigued than hostile.

Now from one of the caves emerged what was clearly the Matriarch, for the other dragons moved out of her way at once. She was a large and elderly dragon with drooping eyes, frayed horns, and a head that seemed to be too heavy for her neck to hold up for long. She glanced over the group without any sign of surprise.

" **Well bless my tail with love and luck! In all my seasons I've never seen such a sight as this, and I've seen quite a lot** ," she said, " **who are you and what brings you to my oceanic oasis**?"

" **I reckon you remember me, Matriarch** ," Shamrock said, " **You always said you never forgot a face** ,"

" **Especially one like yours, Shamrock-17 who dislikes his number** ," the dragon replied with a laugh, " **I admit 17 days is not as impressive as 4, but it is still respectable. We had a 103 last year. Almost celebrated all summer when he finally got over the tree. I would ask who the rest are, but how about we talk this over in my cave? Assuming we can all fit**!"

They did but just barely. Had they brought Gobber along he would have had to stay outside. Hiccup remarked, in his usual dry tone, that he hoped nobody was claustrophobic, so Tuffnut tried to give the impression he was having a panic attack, much to the Matriarch's surprise and amusement. He only stopped when Astrid threatened to _not_ throw him into the ocean. This threw him into a snit because he had been hoping she would.

They mostly let Shamrock, Toothless, and Hiccup do the talking. The rest of the humans talked amongst themselves in low voices.

"This is just like regular diplomacy," Astrid remarked, "everybody gathers yet only the leaders talk. The only difference is it's with dragons."

"Please. Hiccup's not the leader," Snotlout snorted, "He doesn't have the charisma or the strength!"

"Maybe not but he's got the brains," Fishlegs said, rather sharply.

"He's also got the ears!" Hiccup called back to them.

"So what happens now?" Heather asked Astrid in a much softer tone.

"They'll talk, probably make some kind of deal, then either we leave or stick around for the rest of the day. Personally I'd rather we kept going. I want to put more distance between us and that attacker,"

"Oh come on, Astrid, we lost them a long time ago! And if they do show up again, I'll protect you!"

"I don't need your protection, Snotlout."

" **Are Vikings always this noisy**?" asked the Matriarch.

Hiccup shook his head. " **Sadly, no, Matriarch. Aside from him and those two, these ones generally knows when to be quiet** ,"

" **Yeah, if you think that's noisy you should have been there last winter**!" Hookfang said loudly.

Toothless and Shamrock ignored him and went on with their brief explanation of what had happened since Shamrock had left this nest. The Matriarch was a very attentive listener and was so delighted by what she heard she had absolutely no qualms with letting them stay for the night and urged them to get as acquainted with her nest as they possibly could.

" **By all means stay a few days and rest**!" She said eagerly, " **We don't get company out here very often, especially from humans—thank the grasses and flowers! My nestlings will love you if you stay a while! Just don't try to make any join your own nest, Beta** ," she added sharply.

" **I promise you I won't do that** ," Toothless said with a smile. " **But while we'd all love to stay a while, I don't think we should stay past dawn. We've still got to get to Iceland and who knows how long our search will take.** "

" **What are you searching for**?" the Matriarch asked.

" **A Stormcutter** ,"

" **Well then don't go to Iceland! No, no, no, you want to go to Greenland if that's what you're looking for. We've heard stories that there are lots of cold loving dragons living up there**!"

" **Greenland, you say?** " Toothless turned to Hiccup, " **But didn't Midnight say Iceland was where we should look**?"

" **No. She told me what lands were beyond Ireland, and I inferred that since it had the word 'ice' in its name Iceland would be the logical place to find a Stormcutter. Have you seen any Stormcutter's yourself, Matriarch**?"

" **Now that you mention it, I have. It was about a month ago—maybe more, maybe less; I never forget a face but I'm forgetting time all the time in this scattered brain of mine. But yes, we did see a Stormcutter, and it was heading northwest**."

" **Was there a person riding it**?"

The Matriarch closed her eyes and stayed silent for a while. " **There** _ **was**_ **something on its back. A dark shape, I can swear to that. But I cannot swear to anything more**."

" **And you say Greenland is more likely than Iceland to be where it lives**?" Hiccup asked as he examined one of his maps.

" **I will say this: I know for a fact that Greenland, contrary to what its name implies, has more ice on it than Iceland does.** " She suddenly shook her head, " **but you must want to talk it over with your friends first! And you must all be tired and hungry! Come! Let us get some fish and rest! That is what life should be all about**!"

"Can we trust her?" Astrid asked. It was about an hour later, after they had gotten the fish and were taking the rest. It had been the first opportunity they had had to talk over the unexpected development. Only Shamrock was missing, for he had gone off to reconnect with old companions.

"I think we can," Hiccup said, "she's got no reason to lie to us, and she knows these parts better than we do. In any case, according to my maps, the two places aren't too far apart. If Greenland does turn into a false lead, it's still about a day's flight to Iceland."

"Perhaps we should split up," Heather suggested, "Have half search one island and the rest searching the other one,"

"No," Astrid said at once, "We're safer in a group."

"Are we?" Hiccup asked wryly, glancing at the Twins, who had gotten into a fistfight.

"I've noticed nobody here has asked me what _I_ think!" Snotlout said loudly.

"What do _you_ think, Snotlout?"

Snotlout puffed himself up, as if he was about to make some life changing announcement, and then deflated and said "I think we should try this Greenland place,"

"Fish?"

"As long as we see lots of dragons, I'm impartial!" Fishlegs said excitedly.

Hiccup looked at the two women in the circle, who both nodded. "Then Greenland it is. But we'll probably need to stop in Iceland to take a rest, so we can do some searching there, just in case.

"What's that noise?" Ruffnut suddenly asked. They all listened and heard a sweet and rhythmic sound wafting through the air.

"Sounds like the Treejumpers are playing," Hiccup said. He looked out of the cave and saw there was still a lot of daylight left. He knew Astrid wanted to get going, but they now had a longer journey ahead of them. The dragons could do with another day off. "All right, guys. I've got a letter to write, but the rest of you go enjoy yourselves."

"All right!" the Twins shouted. They instantly leapt onto their Zippleback and shot out of the cave. Snotlout and Hookfang were right behind them.

"Just don't hurt anyone!" Hiccup yelled after them as he pulled out some parchment and a charcoal stick.

Fishlegs asked Heather if she wanted to go observe the Treejumpers with him. She was so impressed that he said this without stuttering or blushing that she accepted the offer.

Hiccup pulled out some parchment and began writing. Astrid watched him, clearly wanting to talk, and he was aware of this, but he finished his letter first. "So how does this sound? 'Dad. Have complete stage 2. All are safe and well. Stage 3 has shifted eastwards,' by which I mean west, as you know, 'so the journey may take a little longer. I am confident we shall be successful.' Suppose you intercepted this, could you decipher what I'm saying?"

Astrid considered a moment. "I don't think so. What's stage 2?"

"Stage 1 was to reach the Bog Burglars and Stage 2 was to reach Ireland. Dad and I arranged that before we left. And Stage 3 was what came next. It'll be Greenland now, but our unknown attacker won't know that,"

"You think,"

"That's the best I can do,"

"Then why are we staying here for now? We should move on before they catch up to us!"

"We're staying here because the dragons could use some rest. And in all honesty, Astrid, I kind of hope they will catch up to us at some point. Then we have a chance of capturing them, instead of being like sheep fleeing from an unseen wolf. And we're as safe here as we can be anywhere else. Can you imagine some assassin trying to sneak into a dragon colony?" he added with an amused smile.

"And what if they lead a troop of Dragon hunters here?" Astrid countered. Hiccup's smile faded. "Exactly! We might be putting this entire colony here in danger by staying here instead of moving on!"

"That's a possibility, I know, but it exists no matter how long we stay here. There's always been the possibility that Dragon hunters might find this nest. It's that way with every nest."

Astrid leaned back against the wall of the cave. "I know I might be worrying too much, but the fact remains someone attacked you. They knew where you were. It seems clear to me someone's been spying on us. What else do they know? _How_ do they know? What are they up to? For all we know Berk could be attacked and destroyed while we're sitting here playing with Treejumpers!"

Hiccup looked at her and saw a woman worried about the family and home she had left behind and could not protect. He chose his next words carefully. "Astrid, I've thought of a lot of that too. But Berk isn't exactly helpless, even without us. And if it makes you feel any better, I did ask Bertha to send some Bog Burglar Riders to Berk now and again while we're gone, just to check on things. I think Berk is as safe as it ever is—maybe even safer since the Twins aren't there now." He added with a grin. Astrid visibly relaxed at this news and smiled back. It made his heartbeat skip a little when she smiled like that.

Fishlegs was engrossed in watching the Treejumpers but it was becoming a little monotonous for Heather. It was like watching ducks in a pond. At first it was charming and beautiful but after a while her mind began to get bored and focus on other things. But Fishlegs was unaware of that.

"Look at that one!" he exclaimed, "He's got green stripes on his back! They must help him blend in with his surroundings."

"How do you know it's a 'he'?" Heather asked, wondering if she really wanted to know the answer.

"Oh I always refer to dragons as male unless I know otherwise," he replied, "I used to refer to them as 'it,' but after Hiccup came back that didn't sit right with me. I felt that calling them 'it' was degradation. And in this case, I think only the female Treejumpers have horns"

"Have you always liked dragons so much?"

"Oh yes! They're fascinating creatures!"

"Wasn't it hard back when you were at war with them?"

She could see she had touched a sensitive topic, for Fishlegs hesitated before answering. "Sometimes it was. I've always loved reading and getting books on Berk has always been, well, pretty hard. One of the few books we did have was the Book of Dragons, and I practically memorized it. At first nobody minded—know your enemies and all that—but once I got older and it became clear I wasn't cut out for fighting, people started making fun of me for it. Or telling me to shut up whenever I wanted to point out something,"

"That must have been hard," Heather said quietly.

"Yeah," He shook his head, "Berk has always valued brawn over brains. I'm not saying we don't encourage thinking or anything, no civilization like that could last long, but our knowledge was expected to be either used for a trade or to fight. And since I was no good at fighting what good were my statistics and observations and pieces of trivia? And then one day out of the blue Hiccup came back and suddenly, after we got some issues sorted out, my knowledge turned out to be useful after all."

"That's wonderful," Heather said genially.

"I used to be the second worst Viking on Berk, and now there are rumors going around that once Hiccup becomes Chief I'll be his right hand man!" Fishlegs laughed, "I wouldn't mind that, if it helps him."

"And it helps you out too."

"I don't care about that so much," Fishlegs said glumly. He saw Heather's curious look and, after some more hesitation, said "we were good friends when we were kids. But like me, Hiccup wasn't cut out for fighting. I still don't understand how he could eat so much and work in the forge for years and still be thin and have wimpy arms. But anyway, Hiccup was the prime target for ridicule from everyone, so to save myself I more or less severed ties with him."

He looked at the ground shamefully, "and it didn't improve a thing for either of us. I was still bullied and he got it even worse. I should have stayed friends and we could have suffered together. Maybe he would have shown me Toothless during those days in Dragon Training. Maybe he would have asked me to come with him when he ran away," he added, more to himself than to Heather. Heather was unfamiliar with a lot of these events and found his story a bit confusing, but she said nothing. "But anyway, ever since he came back I've been trying to make amends for the past. And he's taught me to toughen up and be proud of what I can do. And I like to think we're good friends now and he trusts me,"

"He does," Heather assured him. "He told me so earlier."

"I hope you trust me too," Fishlegs added, rather abruptly.

Heather was taken aback at this. "I…I trust you as far as I can, Fishlegs, but we haven't even known each other for a month yet!"

Fishlegs was a little hurt by this, though he tried to hide it. "That's very true."

Heather tried to assuage him. "But I certainly _want_ to trust you, and given a little time—"

"How much time do we have, exactly?" Fishlegs asked, "What happens once this excursion is done?"

Heather once again had a difficult time answering him. "We'll keep in touch! I'll send letters, or maybe Queen Mala will make me the first 'Ambassador to Berk'! Assuming Serene doesn't get it instead. She's been begging Queen Mala for ages to let her go to Berk," she added in disgust to herself.

"Who?"

"Oh, Serene. She joined the Defenders shortly after I did. She's a good fighter, speaks several languages, and she's good at reading people, especially men, but something about her just gives me the creeps. Come to think of it, she's the one who first accused Hiccup of stealing the Dragon Eye."

"Interesting. Well, I sure hope the Queen makes you Ambassador! I'll give you a proper tour of the island if she does," Fishlegs said, "Maybe introduce you to my father too. I'm sure he'd love to meet you." He would probably also love to see Fishlegs bring a woman home for a change.

"Just your father?" Heather asked.

The young man's smile faded again, "My mother died last winter,"

"Was that in the battle with Drago?"

"No, no. On Berk we lose on average 8 people to sickness every winter. Last winter my mother was one of those 8."

"I'm really sorry, Fish,"

"Yeah," he sighed, "I sometimes wonder if I'm only indulging in all this reading and research to distract myself,"

"Everybody does that when they suffer a loss. When I joined the Defenders I dedicated everything I had to serving them, so I didn't have to think about losing my island and my family…or remembering being locked in a cell," she looked at him uncertainly, "have you ever been imprisoned, Fishlegs?"

"No. Hiccup, Astrid, and Snotlout have, and Stoick's locked the Twins up a few times, but I've been very lucky."

"I'm glad to hear you know how lucky you are. Imagine being stuck in a closet all day and night, starving and sick with worry, knowing that at any minute you could be killed or tortured…"

"Were you ever—?"

"No, thank Thor," she said shakily, "Look—can we talk about something else? What are the Treejumpers doing right now?"

"They're…" he turned to take a look and all at once his expression brightened up. "Look at the third cave from the right, two caves down! I think the hatchlings are flying for the first time! Look!"

A large dragon, evidently the mother, was circling in front of the cave in question, and a small group of little dragons were at the entrance, shifting their weight nervously and flapping their wings. One of them finally leapt out into the air and began to pump his wings furiously as he fell. And suddenly he was air born and making his way along the cliff face. Fishlegs and Heather cheered at the sight.

"But what happens if they can't stay up?" Heather asked. The answer appeared when the third hatchling tried to fly. He plummeted and for a horrible moment they thought he was going to fall to his death, but a Treejumper some distance below caught the falling hatchling and tossed him back up to his hovering mother.

"The big one looked like he was just throwing a ball with his teeth," Heather remarked. Fishlegs quickly jotted her words down in his journal.

The Riders were compelled to inhabit several caves for the night, as no cave was large enough for everyone to sleep in comfortably. Snotlout had hoped to have Heather or Astrid in his cave, but instead he got to share it with Hiccup and Toothless.

"Wonderful," he grumbled to Hookfang. He watched Hiccup talking with some Treejumpers and saw them all laughing. He wondered what his cousin was saying that was so funny. In fact, he was uncomfortably aware that he was the only one in the cave who could not understand Dragonese. For all he knew they could be insulting him. Being unable to understand what they were saying also gave him the feeling of not being needed or wanted. In fact, he had felt this way quite a few times on this trip. If they wanted to know any traveling tips everyone turned to Hiccup. If they came upon dragons, everyone turned to Hiccup or Fishlegs. If they were in danger and needed a plan everyone turned to Hiccup or Astrid. It was always turn to Hiccup for guidance. Why was it never turn to Snotlout to guidance? Sure, he loved to goof off once in a while, and did not mind other people taking the heavier responsibilities, but he felt like he was being ignored and left out, like his own talents were not being acknowledged by the others, even though Astrid often insisted they were supposed to be a team. And he did not like it.


	9. Chapter 9

**I Own Nothing**

 **All Rights Reserved**

 **Chapters 9 and 10 were originally one very long chapter, but I trimmed it slightly and divided it at a convenient spot. To be fair to my readers, I have decided to post them together.**

 **Please read and review! I can't easily tell what's right and wrong with my writing without second opinions.**

 **Chapter 9**

" **I Think We're Being Watched"**

They spent one more day at the Treejumper nest and used the time to rest, resupply, and recover. It was just as well, because Hiccup had everyone up and ready to leave well before sunrise the following morning.

Shamrock was the only one to see them off. He said goodbye to all the dragons, wished them all the best of luck, and even gave Heather a slight nuzzle of affection, which displeased Windshear. Hiccup also extracted reassurance from him that he would return to Berk at some point soon. Then, still in the dark, the slightly diminished group took off for Iceland.

The nice weather they had had thus far on the trip now deteriorated. They flew through a morning fog that was so thick they could scarcely see each other. Periodically Toothless, who had the lead, hovered to make sure everyone else was still behind him. And when the fog finally disappeared it turned to rain. It rained and it rained and it rained. Out of all the dragons, Hookfang by far took it the worst.

" **I can't light my beautiful body up in this weather**!" he kept griping.

" **Why would you do that anyway when Snotlout is sitting on you**?" Stormfly impatiently shouted back after he had complained for the fourth time.

" **Because it's fun**!"

" **A fine friendship you two have** ," the Nadder scowled. Nobody would ever catch _her_ doing something dangerous to her human.

As for the humans, even though they were all used to rain, they did not enjoy it at all. Their clothes were as waterproof as a Viking's could be, but that was still insufficient. And the rain kept going on and on without let up. Even Astrid grew more dismayed and short tempered the more it continued, and she was arguably the most hardened of them when it came to the weather. Fishlegs and Snotlout were absolutely miserable. The rest of them were at best subdued and glum. There was very little conversation on this flight and nobody minded in the slightest. They were all too busy filling their thoughts full of self pity and reflecting on how much misery they were in.

They reached Iceland towards the late afternoon, though it was hard to tell because the rain still had not let up. They made for some cloud covered mountains in the hopes of finding a cave to sleep in. Everyone was well aware they were in for a rough night if they had to sleep in the rain and mud, and nobody was interested in doing so.

Searching for a cave proved just as worrisome and frustrating. For nearly two hours they looked without success, and this made their spirits drop even lower. After searching around yet another rock face in a seemingly endless chain of ridges, it seemed hopeless. This made everyone short tempered, irritable, and careless in what they said and did. If someone suggested a new spot to search the idea was met with groans and undisguised displeasure. By the end of those two hours Snotlout wanted nothing more than to find a dry spot of ground, curl up under it, and do nothing more except wallow in self pity and blame Hiccup for getting them into this rotten and drenching mess.

And then Heather and Windshear came through. They had gone a little lower and came back howling joyfully that they had found a cave. The effect was miraculous. Suddenly everybody was on their best behavior and in a wonderful mood, which improved even more when they changed into some spare clothes. And as the cave was slightly damp Hookfang, after a half dozen failed attempts, lit his body on fire and crawled over floor rocks, heating it up in the process.

And then, just as they were about to prepare a nice and cozy dinner, they heard a loud noise outside.

"What was that?" Snotlout exclaimed. "Wolves?"

"It sounded like a Nadder's distress cry," Astrid said, leaping to her feet and grabbing her axe. "C'mon, let's go take a look!"

Snotlout, Hookfang, and the Twins all wanted to stay behind where it was dry but Astrid shamed them into coming along. The only ones who stayed behind were Meatlug, Barf n' Belch, and Chicken.

They wandered around the mountain slopes for about half an hour without finding anything. At first the screams got louder and then abruptly stopped, leaving them to wonder if the Nadder had been killed. But as they wandered around, both in the air and on the ground, they found nothing. Not a print, not a scale, not even a spine. As it was getting darker and still raining they finally gave up and returned to their cave, their spirits in the mud again.

"All I can conclude is the Nadder was injured fatally," Fishlegs announced as they were drying off again, "maybe a predator, maybe a landslide, or maybe a bad landing injured it. It cried out but no help came fast enough and it died from its injuries."

"Then where was the body?" Hiccup asked, ignoring Stormfly shuddering.

"That would imply a predator got it," Fishlegs said.

"Poor thing," Ruffnut said, "and—darn it, Belch! You've been going through my stuff again!" she gestured angrily to her pack, which was lying near the cave entrance and had been clearly ransacked, "I've told you time and again to leave my stuff alone. If you get the urge to rummage through bags do it to Tuffnut!" She picked up her canteen from the ground and removed the lid, "All this shouting is making me thirsty,"

"Well, c'mon, let's get some dinner," Astrid said, "Heather, would you get the—" But she got no further for Ruffnut suddenly spat out the water and screamed.

"I TASTED NADDER VENOM!"

Tuffnut and Astrid had dragged Ruff outside and were making her throw up. Fishlegs had gone to talk with Meatlug. Excluding her and Toothless, every dragon had gone to scout the area. Snotlout had gone with them, without protest this time. Hiccup was examining the canteens. Heather was examining the cave floor.

"Nothing," she said at last, "we've moved over the ground like a herd of elk and wiped out any traces that might have been left."

"In fairness, we didn't see any reason to leave the ground as it was," Hiccup replied as he sniffed Tuffnut's canteen, "and this and Ruffnut's are the only ones with Nadder venom in them. Its odor's easy to detect in drink if you're familiar with it."

"Their packs were the nearest to the cave entrance," Heather observed, "So someone came in here, made for the nearest packs, put the poison in the canteens, and ran for it. The only question is how were they not seen?"

"Well, Fishlegs?" Hiccup said.

Fishlegs Ingerman looked uncharacteristically irritated. "Oh you're going to love this! Turns out this cave's a lot longer than we thought! Meatlug says Barf n' Belch decided to explore one of the tunnels and she followed them to make them come back!"

"Leaving a perfect opportunity to enter unseen by anyone except Chicken," Hiccup groaned, "and Chicken can't talk,"

"Of course Chicken can talk!" Tuffnut said indignantly as he reentered the chamber, "your ears just don't work right!"

"How's Ruffnut?" Heather asked anxiously.

"She'll be fine. Astrid's cleaning her up right now. They'll be up in a minute," he said, looking more uncertain and concerned than Heather had ever seen him. "She'll be fine, yeah, she'll be just fine,"

"She's very lucky,"

"Not as lucky as you think, and yet in another way very lucky," Hiccup remarked.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Heather demanded.

"About a year ago Astrid decided we ought to build up immunities to some of the more common dragon venoms. And we did. So, the fact that Ruffnut drank that venom and survived is not as miraculous as you suppose, but she _was_ very lucky our culprit used Nadder venom and not something she wasn't immune to."

"So you guys—"

"I could probably drink this canteen right now and only get a slight stomach ache," Hiccup said. But he did not know how immune Ruffnut was. The body needed frequent exposure to such venoms and he had no idea how often Ruffnut had exposed herself.

"You never said you were immune to dragon venoms!"

Hiccup was unapologetic. "It's not exactly something you tell to people you're not certain of."

The implications of this statement struck Heather rather forcefully, but further discussion was prevented by the arrival of Astrid with Ruffnut. Aside from looking a little pale and trembling slightly, which was more due to vomiting than the venom, she seemed all right.

"I probably would have been just fine if I had swallowed it," she muttered, "but I tasted the venom and reacted instinctively,"

" **As you should have** ," Toothless said.

"Do you think any of the food got poisoned too?" Astrid asked.

"Do you want to risk it? Don't forget, Heather's not immune—yes I told her about your idea,"

"I just wanna say, Astrid that was the best idea you've ever had!" Ruffnut called to them. She was lying down on her sleeping mat, which Fishlegs had rolled out for her.

"I don't think we should risk it." Astrid said.

Hiccup sighed. "Then we'll try to find a village tomorrow and get some new supplies. Or we could have Stormfly taste everything when she gets back."

Speaking of which, the search party now returned and none of them looked happy.

"This is the third time today I have gotten drenched," Snotlout scowled, "And once again it was for no good reason. We didn't find a thing!"

"I'm fine, thanks for asking," Ruffnut said.

"Sorry Ruff," his tone mellowed a little, "it's just I'm cold, wet, tired, and hungry, and it feels like I've been this way all day," he looked at Hiccup a little accusingly, "you know, if I had stayed here when we went looking for that Nadder, none of this would have happened!"

"They could have killed you," Astrid pointed out.

"Would you have missed me, dear Astrid?"

"I would have cried a river," Astrid said dryly.

Snotlout frowned. "Ugh. Don't talk about water right now; I'm sick of it,"

"Um—hello? My sister here almost died not long ago, remember?" Tuffnut said loudly. "And how did this person know we'd all be out of the cave?"

"Use your brains, Tuff," Hiccup said impatiently, "Heather and I get attacked by a person riding a Nadder. We get here and hear a Nadder in distress. Then we come back and find someone slipped Nadder venom into your guy's canteens. Isn't it obvious? Our unknown assassin found us somehow and used their dragon to lure us away from here. Maybe they intended to kill anyone we left behind or maybe they always intended to use the venom, I don't know. Maybe it was both. But we've gotta be a lot more careful from now on."

They sent Stormfly and Windshear to get some fish from the ocean, to the great displeasure of the Nadder. They were able to bring back cod but the meal was considerably less cheerful than everyone had been expecting several hours ago. Ruffnut was in good spirits, but did not enjoy it the others trying to be nicer to her.

"C'mon guys, I've nearly died plenty of times before and you've never offered to cut my food for me!"

"So for you this is just a normal day?" Fishlegs asked as he put away his knife.

"No. But there's no need to make such a big deal out of it!"

"Well excuse me for trying to show a little courtesy!"

Snotlout, who was still hungry, was begging Astrid to let him have some of the food they had set aside in suspicion. "Come on, it can't all be poisoned, and I'm immune to Nadder venom too!"

"And how do we know they didn't use some other poison as well?" Astrid demanded, "Are you willing to risk your life on it?"

"But they couldn't have poisoned all of it! My bag wasn't touched, maybe if I just try some of that?"

Astrid was adamant, and pointed out that in the process of putting all the suspicious food together it had all gotten mixed up. There was no way to tell what had been in Snotlout's bag and what had not.

"Stupid assassins," Snotlout grumbled.

The conversation now moved onto subjects of poisoning. Hiccup told them about how the Emperor Claudius was believed to have eaten poisoned mushrooms given to him by his own wife.

"I'm sure they were a happy couple," he ended dryly.

"I'd have thought rulers would have the sense to employ tasters," Fishlegs said.

"Well, I don't know if the story's true or not. But in any event, I think it would be quite easy to poison someone even if they did have a taster."

Snotlout was intrigued. "How?"

"Simple. All you'd have to do is poison only _part_ of the food, and then make certain the taster doesn't eat that part. That's probably what they did to Claudius, now that I think about it."

Fishlegs thought this over. "That could work, provided the taster did what you wanted. You'd probably have to ensure they were on your side first,"

"Why didn't you try that with Drago Bludvist?" Snotlout asked rather sharply. "If you could have poisoned him we wouldn't have had to fight him!" And his father would not have died.

"We did," Hiccup said bitterly, "but he only employed one taster who couldn't be bribed or threatened. If I'd had had more time, maybe…"

"Well, you didn't," Astrid cut in sharply, "and there's nothing anyone can do about it now."

Even though they went to bed far later than intended, it still felt like a long night. There are no means of telling time in total darkness, and a minute might go by as likely as an hour without anyone knowing it. Regardless of how late or early it was, or whatever might be in between, Hiccup was very alert and wide awake. It might have been just his nerves, but he had a sense they were being watched. At the very least he could have sworn he heard something moving around elsewhere in the cave, something that was not any of them. On one occasion he thought he saw a pair of yellow eyes in the darkness, but he blinked and did not see them again. Fishlegs, the sentry at the time, was facing the cave entrance and did not see a thing. Hiccup's gut told him to raise the alarm, but he wanted a second opinion, just in case he was imagining things.

" **You still awake, Bud**?"

" **Naturally** ,"

" **I think we're being watched. Smell anything**?"

" **I did earlier, but it's gone now, whatever it was**."

Hiccup rolled over and groaned. " **That's twice now this person has caught us and nearly killed someone. And now there's this! Maybe we should find another cave, Bud, I just don't think our luck will hold a third time**."

" **If we wake everyone up now we'll have a mutiny on our hands,"**

" **Better that then everyone getting killed,"**

" **So suppose we did find another cave, then what? Should we turn around and go home?** "

" **No. If they want to kill us so badly we'd just be giving them a stationary target** ," he rolled onto his back and stared at the ceiling. " **I thought getting lost in England would have been enough. Or maybe they would try another fight, which we could've won, but Nadder venom slipped into our water…that was not expected at all. How did they even know where to find us without us seeing them?** "

" **If they guessed where we were going, they could have worked out for themselves how to find us."** Toothless said thoughtfully, " **I mean, if you're heading west of England, the logical stops are in Ireland and Iceland, as far as I know. And we haven't been exactly inconspicuous this whole time. News can travel fast, you know,"**

" **Are you suggesting they came to Iceland and have been waiting for us?"**

" **Or followed us from the Treejumper colony. It's was foggy and cloudy all day. Tracking someone in such weather is possible if you know what you're doing."**

" **So do we set a trap or try to lose them again? If you could just make eye contact with that Nadder…"** he rubbed his face wearily. " **I'll try to come up with a plan to trap them. Until then, we'll try to lose them again, and be less noticeable."**

" **And post some better sentries next time,"**

Hiccup grimaced slightly. **"Yeah."**

The dragons took them to the edge of the mountains the following morning. Hiccup rode with Astrid on Stormfly while Toothless, who was a much more reliable guard, stayed in the cave and kept watch over their gear.

At the base of the mountains they could see a small port nearby. Uncertain of how the locals would take to dragons, they sent the dragons back to rejoin Toothless.

" **Come back for us at sunset** ," Hiccup told them, "Well guys, shall we?"

"And just how are we going to buy food?" Snotlout demanded, "What kind of money do they use here?"

"Much as I hate to say it, Snotlout's right," Astrid said quietly to Hiccup, "the people here probably won't take Berkian money. They might not even speak Norse."

As it turned out, the locals of Iceland did not speak Norse exactly as the Berkians did, but their own version of Norse was very similar, so there were few difficulties with communicating. The village was small, muddy from last night's downpour, and full of rickety old homes and boats. Yet while the people were very drab and grungy in their appearance, they had a pleasant kind of countenance to them. Most of the men were heading out in their fishing boats, while the women milled out the market.

In the past, if he needed money, Hiccup usually offered his services at a forge for a few days. But this time he simply asked the village blacksmith where the best place to exchange some items for coins would be, and the smith suggested the tavern keeper.

When they entered the tavern Astrid sensed almost at once they were being watched, and not just because she was suspicious of every person they met now. She could see quite clearly several of the village louts and loafers were in the tavern too. They were sitting in groups, most with mugs of ale, and they were eyeing the Riders like hungry wolves. Upon reflection, there was nothing really unusual about this: after all, they were strangers and looked like it, and there were several attractive women in the group. Such men might very well react to any stranger in such a fashion. Still, she felt very glad to have her axe with her and plainly visible.

"Hiccup, make this quick," she mumbled.

"Stay sharp. This won't take long," he approached the keeper, a fat old man with a black beard that covered his cheeks and chin. Hiccup reached into a pocket and pulled out a green stone about half the length of a man's index finger and just as thick. "Excuse me, sir, but how much for this?" He had to repeat himself twice before the man comprehended. He explained he had grown a little deaf from all the noisy nights his tavern had seen.

He examined the emerald and counted out a large handful of dirty coins. Hiccup had no doubt the stone was worth more, but saw no reason to press the issue. So he pocketed the bag, thanked him, told the others they were done, and made for the door, which two men were idly standing next to. At the same time one of the men in the tavern stood up and made his way for the door too. Hiccup politely let him go first, then made to follow. But as soon as Hiccup set foot in the doorway the man in front of him whipped around, grabbed him, and pulled him forward. At the same instant the men on the sides of the door slammed it shut and lowered the bar, cutting Hiccup off from the others!

"What the—!"

"Sorry pal, but yer not part of the deal!" the man grinned. Hiccup grabbed the arm that was holding onto him and twisted it. Then he kicked the man's shin with his fake leg. The man went down instantly and Hiccup seized him by the shirt.

"What deal?" he demanded. Then he heard noise from inside the tavern: the sounds of metal against metal and punches being thrown. "Never mind, I'll ask one of your friends later."

The men in the tavern had wasted no time. As soon as the door had slammed behind Hiccup they lunged at the other Riders. And most of them bit off more than they could chew. Astrid at once whipped around and slammed her axe and elbow into two men. Heather jumped and almost did the splits in midair as she kicked two men in their faces, sending them reeling backwards. And the man who attacked Snotlout got a hammer in his groin.

"Now that's just low!" the man groaned from the floor, sheer pain on his face.

"It's the results that matter," Snotlout retorted smugly.

Fishlegs was less lucky, for two men grabbed him and threw him over the counter, right into the unfortunate tavern keeper. They pulled out knives, intending to finish him off, but Heather suddenly appeared behind them and slammed their heads into the counter. A man grabbed Ruffnut and tried to carry her off, but Tuffnut leapt onto him and the three of them tottered and fell down a set of stairs that led to the cellar. Another grabbed Astrid and she punched him so hard he fell backwards and collided with another would-be assassin.

There were now five men left who had not been injured in some way. One of them ran for Astrid and rammed into her, sending them both crashing into a table. Snotlout and another were wrestling, trying to pin the other down. Two of them threw chairs at Heather, so she extended her double axe and deflected both, much to their astonishment.

"I'll expect you all to pay for the mess!" the tavern keeper cried loudly. Evidently he was used to this kind of behavior.

Back in the cave Toothless, Meatlug, Windshear, and Stormfly paced around impatiently for sunset, while Hookfang and Barf n' Belch sat bored and tired. Then all at once Windshear sharply turned her head away from the cave entrance.

" **Did you hear that**?"

" **What**?"

" **I thought I heard movement** ,"

" **It was probably Meatlug** ," Stormfly said scornfully. But Toothless shushed her and listened tensely. And he faintly heard the quick patter of feet moving over stone.

" **Did anyone else hear that**?" Toothless asked. The others nodded silently. " **Four feet, it's moving rapidly** —"

" **So it's not that Nadder** ," Windshear observed.

" **Yes, but our pursuer could have another dragon**." He listened again for a minute. " **Sounds like it's heading northward. I'll take a look. Windshear and Hookfang, come with me**."

" **If it means a fight, count me in. I'm bored**." Hookfang said.

" **Are you sure you want Windshear going with you**?" Stormfly asked sharply.

" **What's that supposed to mean**?" the Razorwhip growled.

" **I'm not talking to** _ **you**_ **—Toothless, has it occurred to you that in a cave it's easy to make a death look accidental**?"

" **What are you saying, exactly**?" Windshear demanded, but Toothless cut in.

" **Stormfly, she did** _ **not**_ **kill your hatchlings! In case you've forgotten,** _ **that**_ **Razorwhip was killed—by me**!"

" **And that means this one here is the epitome of goodliness**?" The Nadder spat.

" **At least I'm a bit more tolerant**!" Windshear snapped.

" **Come on, you two, can't we all just get along**?" Meatlug asked wearily

" **And even if she** _ **is**_ **evil at heart, Toothless won't exactly be alone with her! Did you all forget he asked** _ **me**_ **to come along?** " Hookfang cried impatiently.

" **I am** _ **not**_ **evil**!" Windshear shouted.

This might have escalated into a physical fight except Toothless invoked his Beta authority. Windshear and Hookfang would go with him and everyone else would stay and keep watch.

" **END OF DEBATE**!" he shouted. " **Holy sheep, I think I've used my Beta powers more on this trip than in the past six moon cycles**!"

Astrid whipped around, dodging the mug Fishlegs had thrown.

"Watch where you're aiming!" she shouted.

"Watch where you're running!" he shouted back as he flung a plate at one of their attackers. This time his aim was true and he got the man in the neck. It was not fatal by any means but boy did it hurt.

Astrid spun around yet again, this time to face an attacker who had picked up a chair. He saw swinging it around like a madman and grinning like one too.

"HA!" he jeered as he swung the chair around, looking more like a circus performer than a fighter; he was so caught up in showing off. "Gotcha this time, pretty lassie!" Then without warning the door behind him was kicked opened and walloped him in the head, knocking him out. Hiccup stood in the doorway, his sword out and blazing.

"So, what have I missed?"

"Oh just a little brawl," Astrid replied casually, "Shall we finish it up?"

"After you, milady,"

The three dragons scrambled over the passage.

" **This cave's a lot bigger than I thought** ," Hookfang remarked. " **How many tunnels are there**?"

" **Most likely they were made by lava long ago** ," Windshear said, " **they could go on for leagues for all we know** ,"

Toothless agreed privately but only asked them to keep their voices down.

He could hear the sound of their quarry once again. He gestured to the left side of the passage. But they had only gone a few meters when Windshear suddenly gestured to the right. They moved rightwards, only for the sound they were following move to the left again. It was moving very fast, whatever it was. They heard a few rocks tumble about but so far saw nothing but a gloomy cave passage. To human eyes it would be completely dark, but to their eyes it was dimly lit.

Suddenly Hookfang cried out. After being quiet for so long the others nearly jumped out of their scales.

" **WHAT**?" Toothless shouted.

" **I just stepped in something**!"

" **Well I hope its dung! I swear you just made me lose two years of my life**!" Windshear shrieked at him.

It was not dung. It looked like some kind of green mucus.

" **Eww** ,"

" **Told you I stepped in something**!"

" **And what left it**?" Toothless asked, sniffing the stuff. " **I've seen lots of cave dwellers but I don't recognize the scent** ,"

They heard the sound of the feet again, this time moving leftwards. The dragons went after it again, at a much faster pace than before. The footsteps increased their pace as well. Then all at once they came to a dead end. Yet the footsteps continued.

" **This doesn't make any sense**!" Hookfang exclaimed, forgetting once more the orders to stay quiet, " **We can still hear that thing, but where is it**?"

" **Perhaps it's far off and we're just hearing an echo**?" Windshear suggested.

Toothless looked around him. Nothing to the left, nothing to the right, certainly nothing below him, so that meant—

He looked up at the ceiling and saw what looked like a giant black and yellow salamander leaping down onto Hookfang.

The man who had attacked Ruffnut had only fallen partly down the stairs, whereas the twins had fallen all the way into the cellar. Once he got out of his daze he pulled out a knife and made his way down to finish them off. He reached the cellar to find a green gas heading towards him.

"What's this?"

As soon as he spoke a spark caught his attention and the green gas exploded. He was blown back up the stairs and hit the doorway at a bad angle, so he tumbled back down the staircase, bleeding in a dozen spots.

Ruffnut stood over him grinning. In her hands she held a flint and a piece of metal. " _This_ , my friend, is Zippleback gas. Mixed with fire it makes an explosion that gives that wonderful feeling of your stomach jumping into your lungs!"

"Yeah!" Tuffnut shouted, but he was not reacting to her words. He was further back in the cellar and looking very proud of himself. "All right, Sis, I'm ready for him! Just lure him down here and we've got him!"

"Um, Tuff? Didn't you just see what happened? I already got him!"

"What?" Tuffnut exclaimed, "Are you telling me I just put the very last of my brilliant explosive powder into a brilliant trap and it was all for NOTHING?" He was holding a torch in one hand. At his feet was a large pile of black powder. A small trail of the powder led behind a large crate. "It was so perfect! We just had to hide behind that crate, light this powder when the guy stood right here, and BOOM! Ah, phooey!" Without thinking he threw the torch to the ground. He saw Ruffnut's eyes widen. Then he looked down and realized he had just lit his own powder fuse.

"Oh dear…"


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10**

 **A Small Fortune**

When the Zippleback gas explosion had occurred all of their attackers ran for it, except one whom Snotlout and Fishlegs tackled and pinned to the ground. Before anyone could interrogate him, however, a second and louder explosion took place. The whole building shook, plates that Fishlegs had not thrown yet fell off the counter and broke, and chairs fell over. And then Ruffnut came running up from the cellar, shouting that her brother needed some help.

"What happened?" Hiccup shouted anxiously.

"He blew himself up," Ruffnut said as if it was a common occurrence. "Would you guys help me out? He's kinda stuck."

Leaving Snotlout and Fishlegs to watch their prisoner and Hiccup to try to calm down the poor tavern keeper, the three women went downstairs and beheld a curious sight. Much of the cellar was blackened and the air was thick with dust. An unconscious man lay in one corner. At the opposite side of the room Tuffnut's legs were sticking out of the wall. He was shouting something but they could not hear what until they grabbed his legs and pulled.

"That was amazing!" he shouted once his head was free, "right through a plank of solid oak!"

"I swear, you're head must be made of iron!" Heather laughed.

"It may be, but his brains are made of jelly," Astrid said.

Tuffnut took one step and fell onto the floor. "Hey, Heather, since when have you been a quintuplet? And Astrid, you never told me you had five heads! That's so cool!"

Hookfang roared and ignited himself instinctively, but the fire did no harm to his attacker. The Nightmare swung with his claws and the creature leapt off and darted to another part of the cave, so quickly Windshear thought there were two of them. Toothless shot plasma at it and Windshear swung her tail. The creature dodged both attacks and got down on its hunches. Muddy green mucus bubbled through large pores in its back.

" **What the heck is this**?" Hookfang exclaimed.

" **I know what that is! That's a Cavern Crasher**!" Windshear cried, " **they can throw mucus that's—** "

The Cavern Crasher flung the mucus at them and spat a thin but forceful jet of green fire after it. The instant the fire hit the splattering mucus it exploded.

"— **flammable** ," Windshear coughed.

" **Thanks for the warning**!" Toothless snapped. He had been thrown into one of the walls and his temper was roused.

The walls of the room suddenly trembled, but the Cavern Crasher did not retreat. It darted to another side and readied another blast.

" **Bring that wall down**!" Hookfang shouted before he shot out a fireball. Toothless and Windshear followed it up with shots to the left and right of the Crasher, cutting off its escape as several large rocks came crashing down on it.

" **That got it**!" Hookfang cheered. He went up to the pile of rocks and looked through one of the gaps between them. He had to leap away at once because the Crasher was somehow squeezing its way through the gap, even though it was much larger.

" **I'd say that's magic except I don't believe in magic** ," Hookfang exclaimed.

The Crasher emerged looking much thinner than it had before. Then its body somehow expanded back to its original size.

" **A collapsible skeleton**?" Toothless said, " **That's interesting**."

" **Never mind that, how do we get rid of it**?" Hookfang shouted, " **LOOK OUT**!" For the Crasher was flinging mucus at them again. Toothless dodged to the left and spat plasma at its back. For a brief instant the mucus there was destroyed, but it readied more quickly. Toothless fired again with a more powerful blast and the mucus was destroyed a little longer. Sensing that Toothless had gained a potential advantage, the Crasher lunged for the exit, leaving a trail of mucus behind it. At one moment it turned around and ignited the mucus, creating a large wall of fire. Hookfang blindly leapt after it, only to take a blast to the head. The Crasher darted in to finish the job but Windshear flung her tail spikes at it, imbedding two in its front legs. The Crasher ran for it.

" **Thanks for that, Windy. Oh, my head** ," Hookfang said groggily, " **I think I've got three wings now** ,"

" **How fast can you move**?" Toothless asked urgently. Hookfang tried to stand up and fell over instantly.

" **About as fast as a snail right now. That's so undignified—or is it undugnifeed? I forget. And when zebras mate with impala they make lots of little zimbralas**!"

" **He's a lost cause right now** ," Toothless said to Windshear. " **Stay here and watch him. I'm going after that crasher**."

" **Alone**?" Windshear exclaimed.

" **No. I'll head back and get some help. I noticed my plasma burned the mucus off it, maybe Stormfly's fire will be more effective**." Nadders had some of the hottest fire of all dragons.

"This is just too much for my nerves!" the Tavern Keeper wailed, "Oh my poor nerves, I just can't take any more of this!" He flopped into a chair and tried to fan himself with a broken plate. "I can stand brawls but explosions—oh my nerves!" Hiccup poured him some ale, which the Keeper swallowed in a single gulp.

"I hope you don't blame us for this. After all, we didn't ask to be attacked."

"Yes—yes—yes—I—I can't think too—oh my poor nerves," the man moaned deliriously.

Hiccup pulled out a few jewels from one of his pockets and slipped them into the Keeper's. "That should cover it." He turned to their prisoner, whom Fishlegs and Snotlout had tied up. "Right, Snotlout, remove the gag,"

"I swear it wasn't my idea!" were the prisoner's first words.

"Then whose idea was it?" Hiccup demanded angrily.

"Yeah!" Snotlout shouted, "Start talking or we'll take you flying and drop you!"

"I don't know!"

Hiccup pulled out Inferno, ignited it, and held the blade close to the man's neck. "Tell me exactly what made you attack us, or so help me I will burn your skin off, one section at a time." Either he was the best bluffer in the world or he meant what he said, and the prisoner decided not to risk it.

"All right, all right, my pals and I were here last night and a woman came in. She told us some people might be in town tomorrow, and she'd give us a small fortune if we killed them—except for you. She specifically said 'spare the one with the metal leg'."

"Who was this woman?" Hiccup demanded.

"I don't know. She didn't stay very long and I haven't seen her since."

"Did she say or do anything else?"

"Like when she'd come back to pay you?" Fishlegs suddenly asked.

The prisoner blushed. Hiccup was running out of patience and moved his sword closer. The prisoner's red cheeks at once reverted to white.

"She—she just said she would come and give us a small fortune if we gave her any dead bodies." He suddenly blushed again.

"And what was she doing when she told you this?" Hiccup asked.

"Taking her clothes off," he grinned, "I've never seen such—!" But his glee was cut off by Hiccup grabbing his throat.

"And when did she say she'd be back?"

"She didn't say that part—or if she did I didn't hear it,"

"I'll bet you were paying so much attention to the striptease you weren't listening," Hiccup growled, "All right then, since you focused so much on her, tell me what she looked like!"

"Well she had black hair, had a missing eye—that was the only ugly part of her—"

"That's what I thought. All right guys, gag him. I've learned what I want to know." Hiccup stood up.

"You think it was Adoncia who set them on us?" Fishlegs asked.

"Who else could it be? I'll bet she went around to every nearby town last night and made the same promise everywhere she could. She probably expected us to go get some fresh supplies after she poisoned Ruff's water. And she'll be coming back sooner or later. Get the girls up here and we'll prepare a warm welcome for her."

"And what do we do with him?" Snotlout asked, gesturing to the prisoner.

"Leave him. He can start cleaning up the room once the Keeper comes to,"

"That's not much of a punishment,"

"He's not much of an assassin, is he?" Hiccup snapped. He was more interested in catching a bigger fish. "Move him over there and keep your weapons out. If what he says is true—what was that?" But he knew what it was. It was the sound of a Nadder squawking. At once he rushed outside, Fishlegs right behind him.

They ran right into the midst of a small crowd. The fight itself had probably not attracted much attention, but once the explosions had happened villagers had put down their work and rushed over to see what was going on. They had all heard the dragon call and were looking around anxiously.

Suddenly a Nadder flew over them at full speed and dropped something from its claws. Hiccup pulled out his shield, intending to use the grappling hook, but as the villagers ran for cover they banged into him and ruined his aim. Cursing, he looked around, just in case the Nadder was a diversion and Adoncia was hiding somewhere. He saw Fishlegs picking a coin from the dirt.

"She promised them a small fortune," Hiccup laughed harshly. "It couldn't get much smaller."

"Does it strike you that this feels like something you'd do yourself?" Fishlegs asked.

"That's probably why she did it," He kicked a rock, "and without our dragons, she'll be long gone by now."

"Or lying in wait for us somewhere," Astrid said as she joined them, her axe out. There was now nobody else in the road beside the three of them. "Snotlout just gave me the rundown. So what now?"

"Is any place safe for us?" Fishlegs asked anxiously, "She's found us in the wilderness and ensured villages are dangerous—where can we go where she can't find us?"

"We're staying here for now," Hiccup said, "we told our dragons we weren't coming back until sunset. They don't know about this development and we've got no means to tell them, so they won't come for us any sooner. And we are not going to try finding our way back to that cave without them. We'd probably get lost and be easy pickings for that Nadder."

The Cavern Crasher darted down the tunnel, its legs throbbing badly. It spat some mucus onto its injuries to serve as scabs while they healed. The walls grew blacker the further it went, but it did not care. Its main intent now was to get the food those humans had brought. It had tried the night before but saw there were too many opponents. So it had waited. Making noise and luring them away had been an excellent plan, it assured itself, even if those three had put up more of a fight than expected. Still, now the food stores were less well defended, which meant the opportunity to take them had come.

Its strong sense of smell could pick up traces of food in the air. And then all at once it stopped. For it smelled a Night Fury.

Of course, the Cavern Crusher did not know it smelled a Night Fury. It did not even know the dragon was named that. But it recognized the scent from before and it looked around eagerly for the scent's owner. It saw nothing. Even though its eyes were well suited for the dark it could make nothing out. It prudently moved up to the passage ceiling and waited for its unseen foe to make a move and reveal itself.

Toothless was standing perfectly still, his red tailfin tucked under his legs and his black pupils as round as possible so the green in his eyes was minimal. It felt strange that in a tense waiting game he had to force himself to look cute. He had seen the Crasher climb onto the ceiling and was quickly formulating a plan. From what he had seen, the Crasher's abilities were largely negligible at close quarters: it fought best when at a distance from its opponents. But if a fight came down to sheer muscle, Toothless might have a chance. The main problem was how to get closer enough, and that meant getting the Crasher off the ceiling. And he knew of only one way to do that.

Without warning he opened his mouth and spat 3 plasma shots in quick succession at the Cavern Crusher. The wingless dragon dodged them but in the process it detached itself from the ceiling and Toothless lunged for it. He tried to make eye contact and use his Beta Powers on it but the creature refused to stay still and Toothless quickly dropped the idea. The dragon flung mucus onto Toothless and blasted it, but the Night Fury's scales were fireproof. Nevertheless, he felt as though a hammer had struck his back. The Cavern Crusher readied more mucus but Toothless was prepared this time, and he shot more plasma at its. The mucus disintegrated. Toothless fired again. This time the Crasher dodged it, shot up around a wall, onto the ceiling, and let go, hoping to land on Toothless's back, as it had done with Hookfang. This was a mistake, for Toothless at the last minute rolled over and caught it in his claws.

Now the fight was nothing more than a brawl. The two dragons scratched and bit and rolled around, each trying to pin the other down and crush them. The Cavern Crasher could not escape for Toothless had gripped it too tightly, but Toothless found it very hard to crush a creature with a collapsible skeleton. Still, its hide was not impervious and Toothless took advantage of that and bit hard. The Crasher threw more mucus onto both of them and lit it up, but Toothless was seeing red and felt almost nothing when the mucus burned. His mind was back on Berk the day he had fought and killed that Razorwhip. As far as he was concerned now that was what he was fighting, not the Cavern Crasher.

The Crasher slipped free, but Toothless had intentionally gone for its legs as a precaution for just such a thing. Subsequently the Crasher could not move as fast as it had earlier and Toothless went after it again, blasting its back with as much plasma as he could muster. The Crasher tried to fling more mucus, only to find its supply had run out. Now in desperation it spat green flames, first at Toothless and then at the wall, creating a gap, which it dove into. Toothless tried to snap at its tail but he too had lost some of his speed through injuries, and he bit only empty air.

The Night Fury took deep breaths and quickly licked his wounds. He could feel that mucus on his skin. It felt like being covered in tree sap and made him feel dirty. It also meant a bath.

" **Ugh, baths** ," he grumbled to himself. Suddenly he heard movement from both ends of the tunnel. He readied himself for another fight, but held back when he saw Stormfly and Meatlug appear.

" **What's going on**?" Stormfly shouted.

" **Have you been fighting**?" Meatlug shouted at the same time.

" **As a matter of fact, I have** ," Toothless said.

" **You should have called for me earlier**!" Stormfly said accusingly. Before the second fight Toothless had sent a call out with his mind summoning Stormfly to come to join him. It was one of the powers Betas had. The Red Death, Toothless's old tyrant, had made frequent use of it. " **Did that Razorwhip attack you? I knew she would have** —"

" **Think again, Nadder** ," Windshear growled as she joined them. It had been her whom Toothless had heard coming from the opposite end of the tunnel. Hookfang was a ways behind her. " **Where's the Cavern Crasher**?"

" **A Cavern Crasher**!" Meatlug shrieked. " **You met one of** _ **those**_ **horrible things**?"

" **I fought with it and it fled** ," Toothless explained, a little proudly.

" **I thought you were going back to get help**!" Windshear said accusingly.

" **I** _ **was**_ **, but I caught its scent and I couldn't pass up the opportunity**!" Toothless said, " **How's Hookfang**?"

" **I'm just fine! I just made a rhyme!...I did, right**?"

" **He's still a bit addled** ," Windshear whispered,

" **More so than usual anyway** ," Hookfang said smugly.

" **What happened to him**?" Stormfly asked.

But Toothless now looked alarmed. " **Wait a minute—you guys left Barf n' Belch alone**?"

" **Well, we all felt you summon me and Meatlug decided to come—hey**!" Stormfly shouted, for Toothless was speeding off to their campsite. The others rushed after him.

They found Barf n' Belch gleefully banging his heads against a wall, and Chicken was sitting on their back watching with fascination. The night before, the humans had pulled out all their food that was potentially poisoned and put it in a pile, to ensure it would not get mixed up with the new provisions. Much of the pile was gone. In the wall closest to where it had been there was a long thin crack. And by the looks of it the Zippleback had not heard or seen a thing.

" **I suppose it doesn't really matter much** ," Toothless said slowly, " **that stuff was dead weight to us anyway** ,"

" **And Barf n' Belch are safe** ," Meatlug added happily, " **As is Chicken**!"

" **Not as safe as they should have been** ," Toothless scowled, " **Guys—** _ **never**_ **leave them alone for the rest of this trip, got it**?" This was why he had not summoned Meatlug to aid him, but she had decided to come anyway.

Windshear went back to help Hookfang, who had fallen behind. Toothless described the fight briefly, and then asked Meatlug how she knew about Cavern Crashers.

" **My mother's first two nests were raided by them** ," she said gravely, " **after that she grew almost paranoid about the safety of her eggs and warned us all the time about Crashers,"**

'Maybe that's what happened to my nest,' Toothless thought, 'maybe a Crasher stole my egg but never had the chance to eat it,'

" **So Windshear fought well**?" Stormfly asked skeptically.

" **Yes she did** ," Toothless replied, " **and I notice she's the only one helping Hookfang out** ,"

" **Oh, right,** "

But there was no need to go, for the two were returning. " **Hey guys**!" Hookfang said cheerfully, " **you'll never guess what I just saw! That Crasher thing's dead! Yeah, it was on the ground with a hunk of dried fish sticking outta its mouth! Looked almost like it had fallen asleep while eating! Is that just disgusting or what**?"

The others exchanged stunned looks.

" **I guess they were right to buy new food after all** ," Stormfly said at last.

" **Yeah** ," Toothless agreed hastily.

They picked up the humans at sunset, as agreed. The humans had brought lots of food and drink with them as well as bad news. Toothless nearly exploded when he heard about what had happened and Stormfly was little better. She destroyed part of the ground she was standing on with her claws.

Heather now insisted they tell her who exactly they were dealing with, but Hiccup, who was in a foul mood, went to stand in a corner of the cave, so Astrid told her. Even then, Astrid only told her as little as possible, knowing Hiccup did not want to hear it and fearful it might make him have a fit. She could see his hands were trembling a little.

Toothless went to join his human. Hiccup looked him over. " **What happened to** _ **you**_?"

" **Oh, nothing** ," Toothless said quickly. " **We destroyed all the poisoned food** ,"

" **What's that stuff on your back**?"

" **Oh, just some of the nasty slimy stuff you find on cave floors.** " He did not want to give Hiccup something else to worry about, especially as it was a moot point now.

Nobody was in a good mood at these late developments, for the dragons, excluding Windshear, had almost as much hate for Adoncia as Hiccup had and with good reason. This was the woman who had first tried to make Hiccup her latest lover and then blackmail him, and when that failed she had thrown him in prison and helped torture him. Then she had sided with Bludvist, had given him the idea to build a formidable iron ship, and had captured Hiccup a second time. Then she had killed Grimm the Skrill and made her then mount the new Beta. This was the Razorwhip Toothless had later fought with, with whom Adoncia had caused the destruction of the Sanctuary and had killed any flightless dragons who lived there. And then she had fought against them in battle, killed several Vikings, and escaped.

With such a list of accomplishments, small wonder Adoncia was hated bitterly by most of them. And this hatred was not softened by the idea that had Adoncia and Hiccup never met, it was quite possible that none of this would have happened. While Hiccup could be held responsible for all of this as well few, aside from himself, blamed him for it, mainly because Adoncia had done these evils willingly and intentionally.

So Hiccup went over to a rock, sat down, rubbed his temples, and sighed.

"What are you thinking about now?" Astrid asked anxiously.

"I'm thinking maybe you guys should go home."

"WHAT?" everyone exclaimed, including the dragons.

"That's three times now someone has nearly died because we're being followed! Heather and I are bound to go for the sake of politics, but that's no reason why the rest of you need to risk your lives any further." He had a private reason as well. If they did catch up with Adoncia, he did not want anyone else to see what he might do to her.

Everyone began speaking at the same time.

" **We're not going anywhere!** " Stormfly snapped. " **If it means catching that murderer and roasting her I'm staying put**!"

"If we're going back to Berk you're coming with us!" Fishlegs shouted.

"I will take your other leg for that!" Snotlout announced.

"We don't wanna go home!" the Twins shouted.

" **Like you guys could last two days without us**!" Hookfang sniggered.

" **We can't leave you on your own like this** ," Meatlug shouted.

Astrid's first response was to slug Hiccup in the shoulder.

"Do that again, Astrid! I'll hold him down for you!" Snotlout cried.

"Hiccup, you are not sending us home and we are not leaving you!" she shouted.

" **Yeah, we** —"

" **SHUT UP**!" Toothless roared. Even those who could not understand him fell silent. " **Honestly**!"

" **Nice set of lungs** ," Windshear commented as she scratched an ear hole.

"All right, look," Hiccup said slowly and earnestly, "I know you guys don't like the idea and I don't blame you, but do you think I want any of you to get killed because Adoncia is chasing us? You all know she told that guy to only 'spare the one with the metal leg'. Do you think I want to find your dead bodies in the woods? I've already gotten enough people killed and, so help me, I am _not_ adding your names to that list!"

"And do you think we're just going to abandon you to her tender mercy?" Astrid retorted. "Do you think we want to find _your_ dead body in the woods?"

"I—" Hiccup could not answer, for any argument he could make could be turned around and applied to him.

Astrid turned to Heather. "What have you to say about this?"

"I don't want any of you guys to get hurt, but I don't want you to leave either," she replied. "But personal interests should not matter here. What matters is what's best for the group as a whole—"

"You sound like my father," Hiccup grumbled, "'A Chief looks after his own.' But what happens when his own are either so stupid or so selfless that they don't want him to look after them?"

"What happens when the future Chief is either so stupid or selfless that he needs someone to look after _him_?" Astrid retorted. "We've made it this far, haven't we?"

"—If you would let me finish, I was going to say I think the group as a whole would be better served united than split up," Heather said firmly. "Unless splitting up will draw our pursuer away and confuse them—and we have no guarantee that it will—our safety lies in numbers." Everyone except Hiccup and Toothless nodded vigorously.

"It's all of us or none of us," Fishlegs said firmly.

Astrid now turned to Hiccup. "We're all aware of the risks. But we're Vikings and Dragon Riders. Risks are occupational hazards for us." Her blue eyes met with Hiccup's green ones. "And so is obedience. You're the Heir of Berk. If you order us to go home, we'll go. But please, _please_ , don't order us to leave. Don't order me to leave you." This last was said in a whisper.

" **Toothless**?"

" **I'm not going to make up your mind for you** ," Toothless said, " **that's something you need to do yourself**."

" **I know. I just want to know what you think about this**."

" **Ah. In that case, I'm on their side. If keeping them here keeps you safe—and so far it has—I say don't send them away**."

Hiccup stepped away for a minute, turning his back to them.

"All right," he said at last, "tomorrow we make for Greenland."

 **Happy Easter everyone! And if you don't celebrate Easter, have a happy weekend anyway!**

 **Quiz: today is April 15** **th** **. What two separate and famous tragedies happened on this day, one 152 years ago and the other 105 years ago?**


	11. Chapter 11

**I Own Nothing**

 **All Rights Reserved**

 **Thanks for the reviews! They really mean a lot to me.**

 **In answer to the last chapter's little quiz, on the morning of April 15, 1865, Abraham Lincoln died after being shot by John Wilkes Booth the night before. Around 2:20, April 15, 1912, the** _ **Titanic**_ **sank after striking an iceberg less than three hours earlier.**

 **A little Trivia: back in early 2016, I was just starting the first chapters of "The Dragon King," and it was going to be a 3 part story. Part 2 was going to be where Hiccup and Berk start reconciling, and it was going to end with Stoick say, half jokingly, that if Hiccup ever brought Valka back to Berk, he would accept dragons with open arms. Hiccup decides to take him up on this, and Part 3 would begin 5 months later in Greenland. Snotlout's opening lines in this chapter originally belonged to Hiccup and opened the whole story.**

 **As this project developed, the plotlines were changed around drastically and it became reduced to a 2 part story. But what you are about to read was originally going to open Part 3, with some alterations.**

 **And with all that being said, I would like to add that I think this has been perhaps the hardest chapter I have ever written.**

 **Chapter 11**

 **The Residents of the Island of Ice**

"Greenland my foot! Dad's beard had more green in it than this place!" Snotlout shouted as he trudged through the hard snow. Snow and ice were everywhere. Before, behind, to the left, to the right, below, even above in the clouds that hung overhead. "Snow, snow, and more snow! Where's the green?"

Hiccup chuckled. "At least the name 'Toothless' is _occasionally_ accurate!"

" **I don't like this either** ," Toothless grumbled. " **I stick out like a tree in the desert**!" His pitch black scales were indeed horrible camouflage in an environment of ice and snow. His rider was not any better suited for the location either. All of his clothes, from his flight suit down to his socks, were either black or dark brown. In fact, the only one in the party who even remotely blended in was Windshear and even she, with her shiny metallic armor, still reflected the sunlight whenever it was present and created a beacon as if to say "I'm right here!"

They all felt vulnerable. They had taken every possible precaution flying there: leaving in the dark, flying in the wrong direction and then heading into the clouds, doubling back, changing directions repeatedly, and landing on one mountain and climbing around it for an hour before taking off again. Yet given how much everyone stood out in the snow and ice, their precautions might have all been for nothing. On the other hand, they had not seen anybody following them.

"Well this certainly looks ideal for a cold loving Stormcutter," Fishlegs observed, "and it's isolated and desolate, so it's certainly an ideal place for a person to hide,"

"Hide where?" Tuffnut demanded, gesturing to the expanse of ice before them, "there's nowhere _to_ hide!"

Astrid had borrowed Hiccup's spotting scope and was scanning the area, muttering to herself. Heather watched her anxiously. Tuffnut had a point in what he said. If he was right, how could they hope to find their quarry here? Second thoughts and doubts were creeping in every second. Were they even in the right place? After all, Hiccup and Fishlegs had selected the location purely by deduction, assumptions, and guesswork. She wanted to have faith in their abilities, but there was lots of room for error and they were only human.

Ruffnut decided she did not care. There was snow around, and she took advantage of it by lobbing a snowball at Snotlout. He retaliated and the fight escalated to include Tuffnut and their dragons. The rest moved away and continued to scan the area.

Suddenly Astrid spoke. "Snow Demons approaching in a half circle formation,"

Hiccup looked around quickly. "That's not a half circle. It's a full circle. We're surrounded. Guys—cut that out!" Snotlout responded by throwing a snowball at his chest.

" **Why you** —!"

" **Later, Bud—defensive circle now**!"

The dragons were already arranging themselves. The humans got on top of them and waited.

"When Snow Demons hunt in packs they surround the prey and sneak up on it," Fishlegs told Heather, "their undersides are light blue, so they stalk prey on foot and keep low,"

"So what do we do?" Heather asked uncertainly.

"Wait," Hiccup replied calmly, "they know we're here and they know we can see them. Let them come to us and we'll hear what they have to say."

"And if they want to have us for dinner?" Snotlout asked nervously.

"I'm sure there's easier game around," Fishlegs said, trying to sound confident. Despite all the experience they had had with dragons, they could never be entirely certain about how safe they were amidst species unused to humans, although Hiccup looked perfectly at ease.

The Snow Demons approached cautiously. They moved almost in synchronized steps, all the while their eyes unblinking and their expressions like those of stalking wolves. The circle drew tighter and tighter around them. At last Toothless gave a greeting call. This did not make them relax but it did make them pause.

" **What are you doing around here**?" One of them finally shouted.

" **Passing through and searching for a Stormcutter** ," Toothless called back. It was important to sound as calm and casual as possible, as a way of indicating they did not want a fight. " **If you've seen one, give us directions and we'll be on our way at once**."

" **That's a bit vague** ," the Snow Demon chuckled dryly. " **What kind of Stormcutter, exactly**?"

" **Sunless** …" warned another one.

" **One that carries a human** ," Toothless said carefully. The Snow Demons exchanged glances and got further down on their hunches.

" **That's why I asked** ," Sunless said quietly to the one that had been warning him.

" **I see now. They're after—."** But the dragon caught itself and did not say any more.

" **And why are you looking for this Stormcutter?"** another demanded.

" **Personal reasons** ," Toothless replied.

Hiccup could not help but feel a sense of relief. The fact that these Snow Demons were showing so much concern told him they knew what Toothless was talking about, which meant they had come to the right place.

The Snow Demons exchanged glances again, clearly trying to work out what to do. Finally Sunless relaxed his position. " **Well, you want directions? We can provide more than that! Come with us and we'll take you right to this Stormcutter**!"

" **Are you sure that's a good idea**?" one asked.

" **They want to see him, don't they? And the Bewilderbeast will want to see them too, so everyone gets what they want**."

"The what?" Fishlegs whispered to Astrid. She did not react.

For Heather, Snotlout, and the Twins, this conversation had been nothing more than Dragon calls and noises, and they had sat in suspense the entire time. Finally Heather could not take the wait any longer and said "Hiccup, what are they saying?"

"They want us to come with them. Either this is a trap or we've found the right place." If it had been humans, he would assume this was a trap, but he usually gave dragons the benefit of the doubt.

The Snow Demons led them to crevasse in the ice. About halfway down was a large opening, into which they all flew.

" **Another cave** ," Windshear muttered. It was indeed a large and very long tunnel made entirely of ice.

"We must be leagues under the surface," Snotlout said in awe as they went deeper. Doubtless he knew he exaggerated, but it did feel they had descended a considerable distance.

And then all at once the ice walls turned to rock and the tunnel gave way to a chamber large enough to fit Stoick's house in several times with room to spare. The dragons all landed now, save for two Snow Demons who kept going down another passage.

"Now what?" Tuffnut asked. "More waiting?"

They waited. Nobody spoke but they all looked around curiously and anxiously. Astrid was almost convinced they had flown into a trap and was looking around for all the escape routes and potential combat positions. She was not the only one who was doing so either.

At length; it must have been perhaps a quarter of an hour, though it felt considerably longer, they heard movement. A large dragon flew into the chamber, with one of the Snow Demons right behind it. The dragon was creamy yellow in color and had four large wings, the largest of which was greater in size than Meatlug's entire body. Each wing had a claw in the front. It had a face that looked strikingly like an owl, with large flaps behind its head and in front of the forehead, which looked like giant eyebrows. It only had two powerful legs. In fact, everything about it seemed to give the impression of power, strength, and authority. At another time it could perhaps look cute and friendly, but right then it glared at them coldly and looked anything but.

"So this is a Stormcutter," Hiccup commented. "Very impressive."

Now his attention was caught by the person on the dragon's back. Thus far they had been hidden by the wings and the dragon's head, but now they dismounted. Their movements made Hiccup think of goblins, or maybe apes: they seemed to hobble about with their knees slightly bent. Their arms were extended and their fingers seemed to be pointing in random directions. Not one centimeter of the person's body was visible from beneath their clothing. While the dress style was somewhat similar to that of a Viking, the materials were some kind of makeshift leather, giving the impression of armor. The way the armor was worn and looked made it impossible to tell the stranger's gender. Most of it was brown, but there were some splotches of sky blue paint here and there. Their mask was the most striking part of their outfit. The front had the same crude blue paint on it. Two long tusks emerged from the mouth and six more protruded from the top of the head. The eyeholes were covered in some black material. Two tiny eye slits were visible near the bottom of these. All this put together to give the person a mysterious, almost feral, and yet solemn appearance.

Hiccup slowly got off of Toothless and went to approach the person. Astrid wanted to join him but Hiccup told everyone to stay on their dragons, to save time in case they needed to make a quick getaway. It was an odd sight, seeing two masked people approached each other warily. Hiccup was standing straight, the other was almost crawling on their knees, yet when they rose up they were nearly as tall as he was.

The stranger suddenly whipped Hiccup's helmet off his head and backed away from him. It had happened so quickly and unexpectedly Hiccup had had no time to stop them. At the first sign of movement his hands had moved for his weapons, not his helmet.

"If you had wanted to see my face, all you had to do was ask," he commented, hoping the light tone would ease the tension. The stranger had dropped the helmet and was drawing nearer and nearer to Hiccup's face. They clearly were trying to examine it. Hiccup felt the sharp and icy touch of their glove as they put their hand on his chin.

Then all at once they pulled away with a loud gasping sound and darted over to the Stormcutter, who barred its teeth at them in a protective way. They seemed about to leave, but Hiccup had not come all this way for that, so he cried "Wait a minute, don't run off! We don't mean you any harm! We only want to have a long talk with you and your Stormcutter friend—can you even understand what I'm saying?" The two had stopped when he spoke but made no further signs of understanding him.

" **What is it?** " the Stormcutter asked its rider.

" **I think it's my son**!"

" **What? Are you certain? I thought he had died!** "

" **I know but this man has a scar on his chin, just like the one you made**!"

" **Everlasting ice** —!"

" **Um, excuse me**?" Hiccup interrupted shakily, " _ **what**_ **did you just say**?"

The two froze.

Now the Stormcutter spoke. " **You know the language of Dragons**?"

Hiccup gestured to Toothless slightly. His eyes were wide and his body was nearly as frozen as theirs were.

Fishlegs spoke up. " **Would you mind explaining what you just said?** "

But instead the human leapt onto the Stormcutter and they flew away.

"Hey, wait!" Heather shouted but it was too late.

"Hiccup, did I hear that right?" Astrid asked hoarsely, "Did that person say 'it's my son'?"

"Can't be," Hiccup whispered, not hearing her, "it can't…" he slumped against Toothless as if he had been struck in the head.

"Do you think they'll come back?" Heather asked.

"Maybe," Fishlegs said, looking uncertainly at Hiccup.

Toothless eyed the Snow Demon, who had been sitting on a rock this entire time. " **Sunless, was it? That person—who were they**?"

" **Why should I tell you**?"

" **Because we asked and we want an answer!** " Hookfang growled. He lit up his body partially to look more intimidating, and it succeeded in driving the Snow Demon away.

" **Nice going** ," Windshear retorted.

" **For once I have to agree with her** ," Stormfly scowled.

"Never mind," Hiccup said in Norse so everyone could understand him. "We can wait. Somebody will approach us sooner or later, and this cave will be like Valhalla compared to camping outside." He spoke very calmly and deliberately, perhaps too calmly and deliberately. "And we're not leaving until we get what we came for."

Yet after saying this, he staggered over to a corner of the cave and starred at the wall. Astrid tried to approach him but he quickly said "I want to be alone for a while." He was given his wish, although Toothless sat down right behind him.

Nobody unpacked, just in case they had to fight or make a quick getaway. Instead they sat beside their dragons in a circle and discussed what they had just seen, in low voices so that Hiccup could not hear, although truth be told, Astrid doubted he would have heard them had they shouted, he seemed so absorbed in his own thoughts.

"So let me get this straight," Heather said once they had briefly explained the family history of the Haddocks, "we came looking for the person who stole the Dragon Eye and whom you believe fought against Drago Bludvist before Hiccup did…and we believe that person just happens to be Hiccup's _mother_?"

"Who was taken by a dragon nearly 25 years ago—" Tuffnut began,

"And, contrary to all expectations, is apparently alive and a friend to dragons," Fishlegs finished for him.

"This is seriously messed up." Heather moaned.

Ruffnut said "Tell me about it. We came all this way to solve one mystery and tumbled into a bunch of new ones! How did she survive? What does she have to do with the Dragon Eye? What has she been doing this whole time? What has she—well, you get the point. This is just crazy!"

Astrid glanced worriedly at Hiccup. "What are we going to do now? Good Gods, guys, how do you talk to a mother who's supposed to have been dead for over 20 years?"

"Are we sure that was his mom?" Snotlout demanded.

"Snotlout, they said quite clearly 'it's my son'. Who else could they be talking about except Hiccup? They even ride the same kind of dragon that took Valka Haddock!"

"And it can't be his father either, because his father's on Berk—unless he's secretly been living the double life all these years, which would be really cool but a little weird," Tuffnut added.

"Thank you for that insight, Tuffnut,"

Tuffnut's acceptance of Fishleg's gratitude was cut off by the return of the Stormcutter and its rider. Everyone got to their feet and took up a defensive position. Hiccup and Toothless slowly turned around but stayed in the same places. Astrid tried to catch Hiccup's eye but he was looking fixedly at their visitor.

The stranger slowly and hesitantly approached him again, this time making an effort to walk more upright.

" **What's your name**?" she asked. He could tell it was a woman now, for even though the voice was muffled it was clearly feminine.

" **Hiccup** ,"

The woman stiffened and slowly reached for her mask. " **Full name**?"

Hiccup groaned slightly. He really disliked telling people that. And why on earth was he so concerned about _that_ at a time like this? " **I'm Hiccup Horrendous Haddock the Third**."

" **There's no doubt then** ," the Stormcutter muttered. His rider responded by pulling her mask off. She was a middle aged woman, probably in her late 40's. Her ragged hair was russet and went beyond her shoulders. Her face was lovely, if slightly cold to look upon. Her eyes were large and a lovely shade of forest green.

Hiccup did not react to anything he saw.

"I suppose…you've worked it…out?" she asked nervously.

"Yeah," Hiccup said hoarsely. "If your name is Valka Haddock, that is,"

"It's been…long time since I've…heard that name," she said. She took a step closer. "I never thought...this day…come," she moved closer again but Hiccup took a step back. She moved closer again but Hiccup backed up again. "Why…back away?" she asked, then in Dragonese said " **I'm sorry, my Norse is really rusty** ,"

" **I noticed** ,"

" **Why are you backing away from me**?" she asked.

" **Why shouldn't I**?" Hiccup struggled to keep his voice level.

Neither of them could figure out what to do or say next. It was obvious Valka was torn whether or not to embrace him, but Hiccup would not let her get close enough. She tried to read his expression and perceived a mixture of emotions: confusion, anger, indecision, bitterness, and surprise, and she hoped she saw a hint of joy in him as well. Perhaps she did not truly see any of these beyond indecision, for that was plainly evident; perhaps she was only reading in his expression what she only wanted or expected to read.

As for Hiccup, his mind was trying so hard to work out how this could be that it refused to work out what to do next. He was looking at his mother for the first time that he could ever remember. The woman he thought had been killed by a dragon when he was just a baby. He had never doubted the story, even after he learned that dragons were not inherently evil. And yet here she was.

Everybody else was so transfixed by what they were watching they feared to make the slightest sound. Astrid felt this was such a private matter that she had no business being there, and yet she could not leave without drawing attention to herself.

At last Hiccup spoke up. "How?"

Valka bowed her head. "It's…it's a…it's a long stor—ee,"

"I should hope so if it covers over 20 years,"

"I thought you were…dead," She looked around uncertainly, and then an idea occurred to her. "Perhaps showing you would...be better," she gestured to the passage which she and Cloudjumper had come through.

"And how do we know this isn't some trap?" Snotlout suddenly asked. "No offense, but we've come a long way while being chased by assassins. You might be pretending to be Hiccup's mom to lure us to our deaths!"

"Chased by a-sass—?" Valka exclaimed as the others told Snotlout to be quiet. "Chased by a-sass— **chased by assassins**?" she switched to Dragonese so she could pronounce it.

"It's a long story," Hiccup said. "And Snotlout—if she wanted to kill us, why not just set the Snow Demon pack on us?" He hoped he was right and not giving her any ideas.

"Snotlout?" Valka said in surprise, turning to him, "you're my neff-yew?"

"I guess you could say that," Snotlout said, a little uncomfortably. He awkwardly realized he had just accused his own aunt of being treacherous or an imposter.

"I should have known. You look a lot like…Spitelout did at your…age. How is your father?"

Snotlout was even more uncomfortable now, though he tried not to show it. "Died in battle last year," he said shortly.

Valka was equally uncomfortable. "I'm sorry. We were not close but…I…never wanted him dead,"

"Yeah,"

She quickly turned to look at the others. "And you two must be the…For-sten Twins…the last time I saw you neither of you had any…hair!"

"And now I've got hair all over me, including my chest!" Tuffnut said proudly.

"Liar!" Ruffnut exclaimed.

"Am not! Here, I'll prove it—"

"Oh no, you won't!" Astrid said sharply.

"I will, or the Chicken will not be amused!"

Valka looked questioningly at the Chicken he was now holding.

"Don't ask," Hiccup said quickly.

" **Why should he care about the amusement of a chicken**?" Cloudjumper asked.

" **Like he just said, don't ask** ," Toothless said.

"Tuffnut—you pull your shirt down right this minute or I'll nail it onto you!" Astrid threatened. "I'm sure the Chicken will be very amused to see _that_!"

"You're Greta Hoffer…Hofferson's daughter," Valka said, "you sound just like her,"

"I'm Astrid," Astrid replied shortly and uncomfortably.

"So then you must be…"

"Fishlegs Ingerman, and this is Meatlug," he patted his slobbering Gronkle friend.

" **I thought you told me the Vikings on Berk hated Dragons** ," Cloudjumper observed.

" **They do. Or they** _ **did**_ **, anyway**." She looked at Hiccup for an explanation.

"It's another long story," he said reluctantly.

"I can see we've…lots to talk about,"

"Yes we do," a dangerous glint came into his eyes, but Valka did not see it, for she had turned to Heather.

"Now…I don't ree—member many other children born around Hiccup's time…except those two, what were their names? They rhymed together…Dog something and Hog something,"

"I'm Heather and I'm not from Berk. I'm part of the De—" but she suddenly stopped. Was it sensible to bring up the Dragon Eye and the Defenders right now?

Before Valka could ask her what the 'D' was, Fishlegs answered her other question. "Their names were Dogsbreath and Hognose. Dogsbreath is dead and Hognose ran away,"

"One's dead and one fled?" Valka asked. They all then realized she had made a rhyme and could not help but chuckle at it. Even Hiccup smirked very slightly. "And let's see, there was a kid named Gruffnut…"

"That's our cousin!" Tuffnut said happily, "he's doing very well, but he hasn't lived on Berk for a very long time,"

"And a good thing too," Ruffnut scowled. "I don't get why you idolize him so much, he was nothing but a braggart and a bully. Remember when he locked Hic—"

"Anyway, he hasn't been seen on Berk in a long time," Astrid hastily interrupted. "Most of us forget about him,"

"Oh. All right. But since when do you ride on Dragons?" Valka asked.

"Since when do you?" Hiccup countered.

She hung her head and looked away. "Some time after I…." She did not hesitate because of rusty Norse, but because she was uncertain how exactly to phrase what had happened without making it sound negative. So she decided to avoid the question by gesturing once again to the passage. But nobody moved.

" **I see Snotlout's objection still holds** ," she muttered to Cloudjumper. " **Or perhaps they want nothing to do with us**?"

" **Or perhaps we want some answers** ," Hiccup said rather harshly. Valka realized she had forgotten Hiccup could speak Dragonese. How he had learned and how he had managed to meet a dragon and clearly befriend it she could not imagine.

" **What have I missed**?" she asked herself softly. "I guess you all know about that last night?"

"There was a raid," Hiccup said in a detached tone, as though unaware he was speaking, "a dragon entered our house. Dad said it was in my room and you were trying to defend me. He tried to do the same, only the dragon took you and flew off."

"That's...true enough," she said, "but not the whole story. Did he ever tell you I'd always believed dragons were not so bad?"

"Eventually,"

"It wasn't ex—actly the most popular opinion," she smiled bitterly, "and yes, when I saw Cloudjumper enter your…room I was ready to forget it and fight him. But when I entered I saw him playing with you. _Playing_ with you…like anyone would if they had entered a baby's room. I saw all my thoughts and beliefs…and hopes proved in that instant. And then your father showed up and…well, he didn't react like me. He attacked. But Cloudjumper thought he was trying to attack _me_ , so he took me with him." Valka turned around to look at Hiccup earnestly. "Not to kill me or hurt me but because he thought I belonged with _him_!"

"Why are you trying to convince me that dragons are not monsters?" Hiccup asked, raising an eyebrow. "Haven't we already demonstrated we think otherwise?"

"Demonstr…oh, that," evidently she had not understood him at first, "yes…er—I suppose you have,"

"So—Cloudjumper, is it?—so Cloudjumper grabbed you and brought you here?" Astrid said.

"More or less," she said hesitantly. "So…who are these?" she gestured to the dragons. "Meatlug I know, but—"

Fishlegs cut in eagerly. "Oh, this is Stormfly, Hookfang, Barf n' Belch, Windshear, and last but not least—"

" **I'm Toothless, Hiccup's best friend** ," the Night Fury interrupted, " **you know we** _ **can**_ **speak for ourselves, Fish** ,"

" **Sorry** ,"

"Your best friend is a _dragon_?" Valka exclaimed, "I don't…well, I don't mean I'm against it, but…not a human?"

Everyone shifted their weight or looked at the floor.

Hiccup spoke. "Yes, I'm best friends with a dragon, and what of it? I don't care what species he is! I don't judge any of my friends that way!"

This little outburst made Valka take a step back, whereas Toothless felt a strong surge of affection for his human.

Valka eyed her son warily. "H—how did your father react?"

Hiccup rubbed his shoulder gingerly. "Not very well," he said at last.

" **You have a great talent for understatements** ," Toothless commented quietly.

"But he's more accepting now," Astrid said quickly over the Night Fury's comment. "Much more accepting. In fact, so is everyone on Berk!"

Valka looked at her skeptically.

"It's true!" Fishlegs said defensively, "we don't kill dragons anymore! We ride them and live with them!"

Valka was unconvinced and said as much.

"Then why are we all riding dragons?" Snotlout demanded. "What, do you think we're all exiles or something and are making all this up?"

" **You could be. Or you could be spies sent here by Bludvist to try and kill us** ," Cloudjumper said coldly, unaware Snotlout could not understand him.

" **Drago Bludvist is dead** ," Hiccup said sharply. " **Nobody spies for him anymore**."

" **Dead?** " Valka and Cloudjumper exclaimed together.

" **After all this time, that monster is finally gone forever**?" The Stormcutter cried.

" **News is too slow reaching these parts** ," Valka told him bitterly, and then to the humans "How?"

"Hiccup beat him in combat and Toothless killed him," Astrid said, for Hiccup did not respond.

" **Everlasting ice** ," Cloudjumper said, looking at the humans with newfound respect, " **if they're telling us the truth…I had started to think he would never die, after he dodged my fire and threw that spear into me** ,"

" **I know, old friend,** " Valka said.

"I'm guessing this was not your first nest," Hiccup said, "let me guess: Drago found your old nest and attacked it? He hinted about it during one of our last meetings."

Valka nodded, "And injured Cloudjumper, along with many…others. We drove him off but knew he'd be back as he…knew where we were. So we pulled out and in time came here. But how did you—"

"And then Hiccup returned to the Archipelago and took up the fight," Fishlegs said to Heather, "and Drago never realized he was fighting a different person."

Valka looked very confused. "You left the Archi…archi…you left the—"

"Another long story," Hiccup said quickly.

The Stormcutter spoke up. " **Valka, we must let the Alpha know about this** ,"

She nodded reluctantly. "Will you come with us?" she asked them, "I…promise you I'm not luring you to your deaths,"

"You'd be in for a surprise if you did!" Tuffnut proclaimed, "Why, we were attacked just yesterday and beat everybody off!"

"Is this another 'long story'?"

"They're all kinda part of the same story actually," Fishlegs remarked, "it's just that it's a very long one,"

"Stop there a moment," Hiccup interrupted, "Did you say 'the Alpha'?"

Valka suddenly smiled. "Come and I'll show you," she said, and she leapt onto Cloudjumper once again.

" **Hiccup, he said 'Alpha', he said 'Alpha! Does that mean the Alpha's here! Does that mean, after all this time, we've finally found them**?" Toothless said excitedly. Hiccup was less enthusiastic but his curiosity was certainly piqued by now.

"Saddle up, gang,"

The new tunnel led steeply upwards, recovering all the altitude they had lost on the downward descent.

"Down below is where we live when it's too cold or the weather changes," Valka called back to them, "but most of us stay up here on days like this!"

" **Feels like we're back in the Sanctuary** ," Stormfly remarked to Toothless, " **only it's a little colder** ,"

" **Just a** _ **little**_ ,"

The passage now became almost vertical. The rock walls had turned back into walls of solid ice. The dragons shot out of the opening and then opened their wings to glide over the landscape.

Valka pointed to a massive wall of ice that encircled the area like the walls of a fort. "That wall runs around the whole nest. The outside walls are either…sheer or stick out like great pikes. If anyone came at it from the outside they'd assume it was a huge mountain of ice. As long as we fly low at such times, no one would ever think there's a dragon nest here. The only ways into it are…tunnels like the one we went through, and they're too steep for hu—humans to climb."

"What if someone broke through the ice?" Astrid asked.

"If they did, we'd just make more,"

"How?" Fishlegs asked.

Valka pointed down at the icy valley below them. Every rider and dragon was struck speechless. Below them, what they had initially mistaken for rocks and ice formations, was the largest dragon—nay, _creature_ —that any of them had ever seen. Hiccup and Toothless had seen the Red Death, a massive dragon in its own right, but this was in another realm. It was snowy white, except for the tips of its spines, which were black. Its body was massive and powerful. Its tail looked like it belonged to a whale: it was that long and thick. It had short wings, or flaps sticking out from the sides of its body, which Fishlegs estimated were largely for show, as they were too small to carry its bulky frame. Nearly every part of the dragon had spines elegantly coming out of it, from its legs down its tail, and all over its back. The spines came out of its head as if to make a giant headdress. On either side of its mouth, which was so large it could probably swallow Cloudjumper whole, were giant tusks, each one thick enough for a person to stand on comfortably. They reminded Hiccup of an elephant, only each one was thousands of times larger than any elephant tusk he had ever seen.

"That's the King of the nest," Valka said proudly, "the Bewilderbeast,"

Fishlegs nearly fell off Meatlug as he reached for his notebook and dragon cards; he was so excited to document what he was looking at. For one of the first times in his life, Hiccup did not think to do the same. He was just so stunned by what he was looking at, even though he had seen so many dragons, never in all his life had he imagined one would look like this.

Hiccup felt as though he was a treasure hunter who had finally found the city of gold. Forgotten was the fact that he had learned his mother was not dead, and everything that came with it. All he could think about was the Bewilderbeast. This creature surely had to be the Alpha. Nothing else on earth could possibly be grander or more majestic. Every centimeter of the dragon's body radiated power and authority. Hiccup had long wondered how it would feel to actually see the Alpha, and now he could say it was every bit as awe inspiring as he could ever have imagined. And he knew that though the others had not cherished the same thoughts, they too were just as awestruck as he was.

Yet Toothless, although very impressed, looked suspicious about something.

" **Why am I not feeling anything in my head**?" he asked himself.

" **What was that, Bud**?"

" **With the Red Death, we could all feel her control whenever she wished it. Wouldn't the Alpha be the same? So why don't I feel anything**?"

" **Perhaps, unlike the Red Death, he doesn't treat other dragons like slaves** ,"

Toothless was unconvinced, but said nothing as he watched Valka and Cloudjumper fly closer to the Bewilderbeast. They were too far away to hear what was being said, but the white dragon raised its massive head slowly and breathed ice crystals in their direction. Snotlout and Hookfang, being the closest to it, got coated in frost.

" **AUGH! MY BEAUTIFUL BODY WON'T LIGHT UP**!"

"AUGH! IT'S FREAKING COLD! GET THIS STUFF OFF ME!"

Cloudjumper came flying back. He was maintaining his dignity, but Valka was laughing loudly. "He likes you," she said happily, "He's very happy to hear Drago is dead, and says you're all welcomed in his nest—you are going to stay here, right?"

The Riders exchanged glances.

"We're staying," Hiccup said at last, "though I don't know for how long."

"Oh…good,"

Trying to relieve how uncomfortable he felt, Hiccup gestured to the Bewilderbeast and said "So…would it be all right if we got closer to him?"

"Closer! Why d'ya wanna get closer? Have you forgotten what just happened to me?" Snotlout exclaimed. He was still brushing the bits of ice off of his and Hookfang's bodies.

"Perhaps you should wait a little bit on that first," Valka suggested, "he's a bit pre—preocc—well, just watch,"

The Bewilderbeast was moving slowly and majestically towards a large lake nearby. It was a large flat expanse of light blue water that had not one straight line making up its border. And now that he was no longer focusing on the Bewilderbeast, Hiccup saw for the first time other dragons, many of which looked like grasshoppers next to a hawk when compared to the Bewilderbeast.

Some dragons he was familiar with. He saw more Snow Demons, Zipplebacks, lots of Nadders, Gronkles, and Skinkhards, as well as Typhoomerangs, Snow Wraiths, and Timberjacks, to name a handful. There were even a few Razorwhips, much to Windshear's delight. But there were other dragons which even he had never seen before. Poor Fishlegs was frantically trying to break them all down and was driving himself to the point of exhaustion.

They saw the Bewilderbeast dunk its head into the lake to take a drink. It raised its head and spat a huge column of ice into the air, into a section of the ice wall. The ice quickly froze into place.

"Whoa," The Twins said together.

"That's amazing!" Fishlegs cried, "Just like a Scauldron, only instead of boiling the water he must have frozen it!"

"That explains why the walls probably won't be penetrated," Astrid observed.

"Exactly," Valka replied, "We only left our first nest because Drago learned where it was and we didn't want to risk anyone getting caught. This nest can sus—err—sus—"

"Sustain?" Heather suggested.

"Yes, it can sustain us better than the old one did." She smiled. "Most of the dragons don't live here year round. It's too cold. They move south for the winter but come back for the short summer. You'd not believe how cold it can get, and how fast the wind blows here. Only the Alpha doesn't seem to mind. Even the Wraiths and Demons have to move underground at times." She looked at Hiccup eagerly, "Well? What do you think?"

"You two are definitely related," Snotlout said. "Crazy dragon loving vigilantes. Like mother, like son."

Hiccup did not nod in agreement. Instead he turned to the group and said, "Guys? Could you give us a few minutes, please?"

Tuffnut said "Why? Anything she's got to say she can say in front of us, right?"

"Come on," Astrid ordered. So only the two Haddocks and their dragons were left facing each other.

Hiccup was about to speak when Valka pointed at his metal leg. "How did that happen?"

"What? Oh that. Another long story," Hiccup said with a slight smile. "It can wait,"

"And how did Toothless lose his—?" she paused, uncertain what to say in case she might offend the Night Fury.

"He was shot down. The ropes and crash took his tailfin off in the process. I…found him in the woods." Hiccup said shamefully.

"Drago's doing?" she drew closer to Toothless.

"No, just some stupid Viking who thought that killing a dragon was the true test of manhood and Vikingness."

" **You** _ **know**_ **I don't blame you for any of that** ," Toothless said.

" **Why should you**?" Cloudjumper asked.

Hiccup sighed. " **He should because I'm the one who shot him down**."

" **Oh, let it go already, will you**!" Toothless exclaimed, as Valka and Cloudjumper reacted with shock. " **You also gave me back the means to fly, and you've given me a lot more than that! Besides, I'm the one who took your leg off, so that makes us even**!"

Valka looked uncertain of what to say to any of this. She felt she hardly had any right to say anything.

Cloudjumper did not. " **You shot him down and robbed him of his ability to fly? The one thing that matters most to a dragon and you took it from him**!"

" **And gave it back to me**!" Toothless snapped, waving his tailfin. " **And I'd lose my tail a hundred times for him, so you keep quiet! It's not his fault they tried to raise him to fear and kill dragons! It was a senseless war that took my fin off, not Hiccup!** "

" **Cloudjumper** ," Valka said sternly. The Stormcutter backed away slightly. She then carefully approached Toothless and held a hand out. " **May I? I've never seen a Night Fury before** ,"

" **Neither have I** ," Toothless remarked.

She started petting him. " **He's beautiful** ," she said gleefully.

" **Did you hear that, Hiccup**?" the Night Fury said smugly. " **Beautiful. I like her already**!"

Hiccup was only slightly amused. " **Does flattery work that easily on you**?"

" **It's not flattery when it's the truth**!" Then Valka stuck her hand inside his mouth.

" **GAUK!** " was the sound Toothless made as she felt around.

" **Retractable teeth. So that's how you got his name. I'd wondered. And a forked tongue. I've never seen one this shape before."**

" **Hiccupth thee's pullin' on ma thunge**!" Toothless gagged.

" **I can see that** ," Hiccup smirked. Now he was genuinely started to enjoy this. " **That's what you get for being so vain**."

" **Thaiting tha thruu—ptoo**!" he spat once Valka removed her hands. " **As I was saying, stating the truth is not vanity!"**

"Well, he's certainly a wonderful dragon," Valka said as she stood up and turned to face Hiccup, "and incredibly rare too! He might be the last of his kind for all we know. But…that's not what you wanted to talk about, is it?"

He shook his head and folded his arms, his amusement gone. "Why didn't you ever come back for me?"

Valka bowed her head. "I knew you'd ask."

"Well?"

It took her a while to work out what to say. A few times she looked ready to start speaking but then suddenly changed her mind. Finally she said "I don't think any words can excuse it…"

"Try,"

"I couldn't go back," she said, turning away from him, "knowing what I did, I couldn't return to Berk and live in such a place any longer. And I had no way to get back—I couldn't make Cloudjumper take me and I couldn't just leave him. And can you imagine how Stoick might have reacted if I came back with a dragon for a friend?" she said all this hoping he would see a parallel between himself and Toothless.

Hiccup did see the similarity but remained cold and silent.

"What good would it have done?" Valka asked.

"I would have had a mother! Isn't that good enough?"

" **Or you could've come back and taken him away with you** ," Toothless said. He knew a lot about Hiccup's childhood bullying, and was not pleased to know there might have been a way to avoid it.

" **How could I raise a boy in the wild? And how could I steal him from his father?"**

" **Or you could've shown them that dragons aren't what they thought!"** Toothless added, " **It would've saved a lot of time and lives**!"

" **Would they have listened**?" Cloudjumper retorted.

" **Don't you think Cloudjumper carrying you back safe and sound would have been proof for them**?" Hiccup asked.

Valka shook her head. " **That was a risk I couldn't take. I wasn't going to ask Cloudjumper to fly into the middle of Berk and hope no one would try to kill him**." She said sternly.

Hiccup had only wanted to know if she had considered this. He understood her answer, for he had had the same fear when he and Toothless had returned to Berk. He scratched his shoulder. When he had told his father that particular truth and much more with it, Stoick had thrown a spear at him. Oh yes, he could understand why Valka might have feared Stoick's anger. Even so, while he knew his father might do something horrible in blind rage, he could not believe Stoick would ever harm his beloved wife. His estranged and difficult son perhaps, but surely not the only woman he had ever loved.

"In any case, I thought you'd be better off without me." Here Hiccup snorted but she did not notice, "I…I did come back when you were four. I saw you playing with other kids. You were so happy…" she smiled at the memory.

" **And we agreed taking you would have been wrong** ," Cloudjumper said.

Valka nodded wearily. "I did intend to come back…again, Hiccup. It was going to be a surprise for your sixteenth birthday. I'd thought the time was right. But when I snuck into Berk, I learned that you were dead. And I saw Stoick, drunk and cursing dragons. And I gave up."

Hiccup and Toothless exchanged glances. That would have been around a year after they had left Berk. A year after Berk had incorrectly concluded the Night Fury had killed him.

"So," he said at last, "you didn't come back because you wanted to believe we were all better off without you, is that it?" he had been thinking about this during the silence and the more he thought about it the more it hurt.

"That was one reason,"

"And it's more inaccurate then the Book of Dragons used to be,"

"What's that supposed to mean?" Valka asked sharply.

Hiccup's expression was even sharper than her tone had been. "It doesn't really matter, does it?" Her statements had hurt more than she could have realized, but suddenly he decided he did not want her to know that. Before she could respond, and before he said anything further, he climbed onto Toothless and urged him to fly off. Valka and Cloudjumper did not follow.

 **Author's Note: when I was posting "The Dragon King", one reviewer remarked that Valka had no real right to tell off Stoick for being a bad parent, given her own track record. The more I thought about this, the more I realized they were right. I really struggled to find an excuse for why Valka would rather stay away from Berk and her family that did not sound completely selfish, and I just could not let Hiccup become friendly with her instantly, like he does in the movie. I honestly think Valka is the hardest character I have had to write for in these stories, because nearly every scene that features her keeps giving me difficulties. Astrid's question "how do you talk to a mother who's supposed to have been dead for over 20 years?" is a direct reference to my own frustrations at trying to write these scenes.**

 **And the next chapter answers a few more mysteries, creates a few more, and has a surprise that I think everyone will really like. It will be posted April 29** **th** **.**


	12. Chapter 12

**I Own Nothing**

 **All Rights Reserved**

 **Chapter 12**

 **Night**

The Dragon Riders set up camp in the chamber they had first met Valka in. They had not seen Valka since Hiccup asked them to leave, and Snotlout was relieved, for he was rather keen to avoid her. He feared she might start asking about Hiccup's childhood, and that was a subject that did him no credit. He had done little more than torment his cousin throughout those years. In fact, as he joined the others in dividing up their dinner portions he got the sense none of them wanted to talk about that time. Possibly Hiccup himself did not want Valka to know about it either, though there was no way of knowing, for he and Toothless were still absent. Astrid kept looking back to the tunnel entrance to see if they were coming to join them, and the longer she waited the more concern she felt.

Not that there was nothing to talk about at dinner. On the contrary, each topic had an entire ocean of possibilities opened for discussion. Namely, how were they going to behave around Valka and what were they going to do about the Dragon Eye?

"Assuming Valka did steal the Dragon Eye—and keep in mind we don't know if she has or not—"

"Fishlegs, the Rider rode a Stormcutter. I saw it. Who else could it have been?" Heather said in exasperation.

"Yes, but didn't you ask the same thing when you said Hiccup had stolen the Eye? As I was saying, assuming Valka did steal it, how are we going to get it back?"

Snotlout shrugged. "She's his mom, isn't she? He can just ask her to give it to us."

"And if she refuses?" Astrid asked.

"Why would she? She's his mom!"

How could someone be fairly smart in some matters and an idiot in others, Astrid had to wonder. "That hasn't mattered much to her before, why should it matter to her now?" she retorted.

Fishlegs piped up. "And she stole this Eye for a reason. Some reasons can exceed all loyalty to friends and blood ties, and Hiccup's family hasn't really…well…"

"He chose Toothless over his village and father, his father chose his village and duties over his son, and his mother chose dragons over her family and village," Tuffnut finished for him. Sometimes he could be dense, but other times he could hit the nail right on the head. Or hit his own head, which, according to some people, amounted to the same thing.

Heather spoke again. "This is one seriously messed up family, you know that?"

"Concerning how we're going to find the Dragon Eye, I suggest we discuss this with Hiccup first." Astrid said, taking another look back. "Where _is_ he?"

"Knowing Hiccup, he probably already has an idea," Fishlegs said.

"You really think so?" Ruffnut said, "He just found out his mother's alive, I highly doubt he's thinking of anything else. I certainly wouldn't be if it was me."

"Yeah, I'd wanna know if she approved of explosions," Tuffnut added fretfully.

The others scowled at him and Fishlegs resumed the discussion. "Snotlout may be right: she might help us for Hiccup's sake. But if she doesn't…"

"We can worry about that if it comes to it. But Queen Mala sent me to find the Eye and that's what I'm going to do, alone if I have to."

The word 'alone' made Astrid decide that Hiccup had been gone for too long, and she departed on Stormfly to find him.

Night had fallen over Greenland. The white snow and ice now looked dark blue. A million stars were in the sky, each one a bright white pearl surrounded by a faint and lovely aura. The hills and the wall of the nest were giant, half visible objects of seemingly menacing attributes. The air was cold and growing colder, but neither Astrid nor Stormfly minded it much.

They circled around for a while before spotting Toothless perched on a small cliff and looking down on the icy plains below like a giant vulture. Stormfly hailed him.

" **He's up here** ," Toothless called to them.

Sure enough, Hiccup was sitting next to him, his feet dangling off the edge of the small cliff. He was staring up at the sky, seemingly oblivious to the cold that was settling in. Stormfly and Astrid landed nearby and made their way over to him. As they got closer, however, Astrid was uncertain of what to say to him. How was she to talk to him about this? Was he even in the mood to talk about it?

"I know you're there, you know," Hiccup said without turning around.

"Am I disturbing you?"

"On the contrary,"

She took this as permission to join him, and sat down next to him.

" **Toothless, you said you wanted to talk to the Bewilderbeast. Now's as good a time as any** ,"

Toothless looked carefully from him to Astrid and back again. Finally he nodded, albeit reluctantly, opened his wings, and glided off the edge to the ground below. Stormfly also flew a little ways away to let them have some privacy.

"Have you been out here this whole time?"

"Pretty much,"

He was speaking way too calmly and detachedly, so much that it was unnerving. "Hiccup, talk to me, please," she pleaded. "I know you've been thinking about your mother, so please, will you let me know your thoughts?"

It was a while before he responded. "She abandoned me, Astrid," he said at last, "she was taken by Cloudjumper and decided to stay where she was. She thought I was better off. And I really want to hate her for thinking this way, but I can't entirely, because I did the exact same thing myself when I was 15. And I hate the fact that I want to hate her and yet a part of me doesn't want to hate her, it wants to get to know her more, because I think I'd really like to have her for a parent. Does this make any sense? And then I recall she intentionally stayed away from me and I feel like I did when we were kids." Tears were starting to come into his eyes but he wiped them away quickly. "I used to dream about her, you know. On those days when I'd disappointed Dad too much, or when Snotlout or Dogsbreath beat me up, I'd crawl into bed and imagine my mom had survived the dragon attack and was coming back to take me away to some place where I would be loved and respected. And then the next day I'd wake up knowing it was not gonna happen."

He suddenly pushed Astrid's hand off his arm, stood up, whipped out Inferno, and, with a loud yell, slammed his sword into the rock wall behind them. "My father ignored me, my cousin and uncle hated me, my friends deserted me and bullied me, and now I find even my mother didn't want to be with me! NOBODY EXCEPT GOBBER EVER CARED ABOUT ME UNTIL TOOTHLESS CAME ALONG! WHY? WHY DID EVERYONE HATE ME SO MUCH? WHAT DID I EVER DO TO ANYONE? WHY ME? WHY ME?"

Astrid grabbed him. "Hiccup, stop this! Stop it!"

At first he pushed her away. There was a feral look in his eyes. But it vanished and he grabbed her arm, pulled her towards him, and started sobbing uncontrollably on her shoulder.

"It's all right, Hiccup, it's all right," she said gently as she lowered them to the ground, "it's all right,"

"What did I do to deserve all of this? Even the Gods don't like me! What is it that makes everyone instantly dislike me?"

"Nothing!" Astrid shouted at him, "I know we weren't on good terms for a long time, but I never hated you and I certainly don't now! Stop it, it's all right, you're all right, you're just upset, it's not as bad as you think it is, it's all right," she kept repeating soothingly. It took a while before Hiccup started taking deep breaths and calming down. And when he did, the very first thing he did was to grab Astrid and kiss her on the lips.

"What would I do without you and Toothless? I'd be like a broken bottle!" He sniffed and laughed at the same time, "How's _this_ for leadership material? The next Chief of Berk is upset because he wants to be loved. I can hear Mildew sneering at me already."

"He'd sneer at you no matter what you did and you know it." Astrid said, relieved that he was in a better mood and rather thrilled by the kiss. It had been a bit more vigorous than usual.

"Yeah…well, I don't need _him_ to be on my list of people who love me."

"I noticed you only included Toothless and Gobber on that list!" She said rather indignantly.

"You mean in that outburst? I was only talking about my life before I ran away with Toothless." He pulled her into a tight hug. "I wasn't talking about the way things are now,"

"Is this your way of saying you love me?" Astrid asked with a smile, "You could stand to say it more often."

He kissed her a second time. "Anytime you want, Milady—within reason of course. Don't take my words too literally,"

"Do you think I'm Ruffnut or something?" Astrid laughed.

"If you were Ruffnut we would not be having this conversation." His smile was fleeting. "Oh, Astrid, what am I going to do? We've still got that Dragon Eye to find, and now I've got to choose how things are going to be with my mother, and I can't decide on it."

"Do you like her?"

"That's just the thing. She seems an awful lot like me. This nest, her and the dragons, even her reasons for choosing them over Berk, it all sounds like what I might have done! Heck, she even wears a mask like I sometimes do! I already feel I've got more in common with her than my Dad! But what do I do about it? Get to know her? Just forget and forgive the past and—?" he looked at her helplessly, at a loss for what to say next.

Astrid considered as he spoke. What would her father have said to this? He would have told her to do the honorable thing. And the honorable thing to do was: "I'd say yes,"

"Seriously?"

"Seriously. Hiccup, you know my father's dead. If by some miracle I found out he was still alive, I would do everything I could to be with him again. I'd consider this a wasted chance if you avoided your mother now that you've found her. Although," she added with a growl, "I'm not very happy about her actions either."

"I could point out some flaws in your argument, but it's well intended, so I won't.

"Well what else can we do?"

Hiccup sighed and buried his head in his hands.

"Improvise and hope this works out somehow," he grumbled.

"Pretty much. You wanna head back now? The others might be getting worried."

"Can we just stay here for a while? I've missed being alone with you." He pointed at the sky, "Look. It's going to be a starry night tonight: a beautiful and cold night full of stars of all kinds and planets. You know, I've sometimes wondered how long it took astronomers to work out the courses stars follow each year. They must've been practically nocturnal."

"You're trying to change the subject, aren't you?"

"You know me too well," he sighed once again. "I no sooner make peace with one parent than I find I've got the other one to worry about. Oh gods, what's Dad gonna say when he learns about this?" he gingerly rubbed his shoulder.

Astrid curled next to him. "We'll worry about that when we return to Berk, all right? Who knows? Maybe she'll come back with us. Would you object to that?"

He wrapped an arm over her shoulder. "I don't know."

They sat and looked at the stars for a while.

"Say, Hiccup, where's Toothless gone anyway? I didn't really hear," She could not imagine he would leave Hiccup if he was upset.

"He wanted to talk to the Bewilderbeast," He had suggested the Night Fury leave at that time because he had not wanted Toothless to see him have a meltdown again. He had already seen enough of those.

Suddenly Astrid punched him in the shoulder.

"OW!"

"That's for thinking nobody loves you," she growled. Then she kissed him on the cheek. "And that's for everything else."

"Punches and kisses. The story of our relationship."

Toothless eyed the Bewilderbeast. It was sitting in a giant burrow dug from the snow, yet even though the burrow was large, only the dragon's tail and hindquarters were able to fit in it. Being this close to it made Toothless feel intimidated, and that was a rarity for him. Even the Red Death's size had not scarred the Night Fury much, just her behavior.

It took a while but eventually the massive white dragon realized it had a visitor. He shifted his giant head to look at Toothless directly.

" **Yes, Night Fury**?"

" **I'd like a word, if you don't mind**."

" **Well then**?"

" **You're not the Alpha** ,"

" **I beg your pardon**?"

" **You're not the Alpha** ,"

" **Who told you I was**?" The Bewilderbeast looked at first stern, but then lowered his great head in understanding. " **Did Valka or Cloudjumper call me that? It was a force of habit, if they did. They probably did not even realize what they had said. But no, I am not the Alpha. Was it the fact that I have no mind control over you what tipped you off**?"

" **Yes. If you really were the Alpha you could control me, but I've felt nothing in my mind to suggest your presence there. I can only conclude you're a Beta like me. So why did they call you the Alpha**?"

" **As I said, it was a force of habit. I've always been a large and imposing dragon, as you can see, and I was quite a fighter in my younger days. I became a Beta after defeating another dragon, and I took over his tiny nest. I made it larger and greater. As it happened, some of the earliest members of my nest took to calling me 'Alpha' and the name stuck. Rather like your human and his 'Dragon King' title, I imagine.** "

" **So they were only using a nickname?"** Toothless exclaimed.

" **Yes. I am sorry for the confusion, but I am no more the Alpha than a snowflake is."**

" **About the true Alpha—do you know anything**?"

" **Not really. The Alpha vanished at least a century before I was born. It's been nearly four hundred years I think**."

" **And** _ **nobody**_ **has heard about him—or her—since then**?"

" **Not to my knowledge**."

Toothless stamped the ground in frustration. " **The Alpha's starting to sound something like the Holy Grail or Atlantis to me** ,"

" **What are those**?"

" **Things which humans have searched for and have never found, probably because they don't actually exist. Do you know why the Alpha vanished? Do you even know what species they were**?"

" **As to the first, no. I do not believe anyone knows now. But as to the second, I thought you of all dragons would have known that. The last Alpha I knew of was a Night Fury**."

Toothless was not expecting such information. " **A Night Fury**?"

" **Yes. Of course, I might be thinking of the wrong one, but I believe at some point not long before the Alpha vanished, it was a Night Fury."**

" **Interesting,"** Toothless mused. " **So if I tell my friends you're not the real Alpha, will it cause you any trouble**?"

" **Not at all. My dragons know perfectly well that I am not. At least, not officially**." the Bewilderbeast could not really smile, but he seemed pleased by whatever he was thinking about. " **But I have always tried to measure up to the standards expected of an Alpha. I did want to fight with the Red Death—oh yes, I know about that tyrant—but everyone pleaded with me to wait a bit and learn more first, and then Drago Bludvist arrived on the scene and I had to worry about the safety of my own nest."**

Toothless nodded. " **That's what Beta's are supposed to do. So why didn't you ever let Valka return home? You could've ordered Cloudjumper to bring her back."**

" **Back to that island of dragon slaughterers? Could you have ordered such a thing?"**

Toothless frowned. " **I'd now say 'yes' for Hiccup's sake, but if I had only taken her and didn't care at all about the rest of her family…perhaps not. But couldn't you have ordered someone to kidnap her son and bring him to her?** "

" **I understand why you're asking this, but why would I have wanted a human hatchling in my nest? I didn't know what Cloudjumper saw in Valka and I don't know what your nest sees in humans, but Cloudjumper insisted she was different and would not be a hazard to our nest, so I let him look after her. At that time, I had no desire to let just any human into my nest. Besides, how could any of us have taken care of a human hatchling? It was troublesome enough at times looking after Valka's needs."**

" **Well, I had to ask. I don't like the reasons, but I imagine I would have done the same, before I met Hiccup."**

" **Perhaps,"**

" **Well, I should head back. Thank you for your time** ,"

" **Thank you for talking to me** ," The Bewilderbeast said. He sighed and snowflakes were blown out of his mouth. " **I do have one major dislike about being a Beta and an aspiring Alpha. Everybody treats me like a superior first and a friend afterwards. It's nice sometimes to be spoken to more as an equal,"**

" **That's what happens when you're in command** ," Toothless smiled bitterly. He walked away silently. Now that he knew the truth he wanted solitude.

He wandered up the banks of snow and stared out over the nest, deep in thought. First he thought of Hiccup's mother, but the part about the Bewilderbeast not being the Alpha kept coming back into his mind.

So the true Alpha was still missing, assuming they were even still alive, and at one point the Alpha had been a Night Fury. It was very interesting and yet at the same time seemed pointless to dwell on. The Alpha had been gone for centuries, so why speculate now? And yet he could not help but do so. He was especially interested in the Alpha's possible connection to Night Furies, and he wondered if the Alpha's disappearance was related to the disappearance of his own species.

Toothless and Hiccup had sometimes discussed why they had never seen another Night Fury. Hiccup had always hoped there was a massive colony somewhere in the world that they just hadn't found yet. They had sometimes heard stories of an island of Night Furies, but had never found it or any clue of where it was, if it existed at all. Toothless honestly doubted it had, and he also doubted there were a lot of Night Furies, wherever they might be hiding. He had always felt he was unquestionably a rare species. But was he indeed the very last of his kind, as Valka had suggested?

The problem was there was so little to go on. Dragons could not read or write, so any stories or traditions were either instinctive or passed down orally. But Toothless had never had anyone to receive any special knowledge from. He had just broken out of his egg one day and there was nobody around and no eggs besides his, so he had been on his own from that moment on. He could not even say if it was normal Night Fury behavior to abandon their eggs or not. For all he knew both his parents could have been killed, following natural instincts, or were so disappointed with the egg color they abandoned it.

Normally he did not mind being the only member of his species no matter where he went. He had been forced to grow used to it, and being with Hiccup had made it much more bearable. But having seen his brother reunited with his long lost mother, he could not help but wonder about his own mother, and why he had hatched where he had, what had happened to his parents, and why were there no other Night Furies no matter where he looked? And he could not answer any of this.

"Heather, there's something I've been meaning to ask you," Fishlegs said some time after Astrid had left. "You said one of the Dragon Eye lenses was still hidden? What would happen if it was found and included with the rest?"

Heather considered her answer, not because she did not trust Fishlegs with the information but because she was trying to remember what the information actually was. "For one thing, all of its knowledge would be available to whoever had it. But there's one other matter too, which I only know about by accident. I overheard Queen Mala mention that if all the lenses were together and a Night Fury breathed into the Eye, the image created—according to a long standing story, anyway—would be a map to the Isle of Night."

"What's the Isle of Night?" Tuffnut asked.

"You mean to tell me that the Dragon Eye shows the location of the island where Night Furies are believed to have originated?" Fishlegs exclaimed. "The island stories say once held a nest of thousands? The legendary island no one has seen in centuries? The Defenders of the Wing had a map to it all along?"

"Stuff and nonsense," Snotlout snorted, "That's just a children's tale, Fish. There's no such place."

"Yeah," Heather said in response to Fishlegs, "or so her Highness was told and believes, anyway."

Fishlegs cried "Why didn't you tell Hiccup sooner? He's been searching for Night Furies for years! If you had told him this before he would have agreed at once to come on this trip!"

"That was Queen Mala's decision, not mine. Besides, as Hiccup keeps reminding me, we need to be careful with whom we tell these things to,"

"Well we've got to tell him now! Once he knows nothing will stop him from finding the Dragon Eye, not even his own mother!"

"Fish, we still need the last lens in order to see that map, and I have no idea where that is. And I doubt Queen Mala will let us locate it."

"Maybe as a reward for bringing the Eye back—"

"Which we haven't done yet," Ruffnut interrupted, "we don't even know where it is, and we've got no idea how Hiccup's mom will react when she finds out we're looking for it. C'mon guys, one thing mystery at a time from now on, ok?"

Hiccup and Astrid had hardly moved at all. Instead they stayed put and looked at the night sky. Twice they had seen shooting stars, and a real shock took place when a section of the sky turned green and began to move around like a ribbon.

"It's Aurvindil's Fire!" Astrid exclaimed. "But that's not due for at least another year!"

"Evidently it comes at different times in different places," Hiccup said lightly.

"So where's the Flightmare?" she looked around quickly. On Berk, whenever Aurvindil's Fire came a Flightmare came with it. It had been a Flightmare that had killed her beloved Uncle Finn and they were probably the one species of dragon Astrid was unwilling to think well of. She reached for her axe and stood up, taking a fighting stance from force of habit.

"Astrid, sit down," Hiccup said, "there's a Flightmare's down by the lake, but I highly doubt he's going to come up here." Sure enough, a dragon that looked like a ghost was down at the lake drinking.

Slowly she resumed her spot, but she kept her axe at the ready.

"Hmm," Hiccup said thoughtfully, "I thought they preferred water filled with algae. That's what gives them their color, after all. But maybe there isn't any around here, or maybe this one's just thirsty and doesn't care what the water's got in it."

"One more observation for the new Dragon manual?" Astrid rolled her eyes. "That's going to become one very thick book when we get back."

"Fishlegs and I will take care of that, don't worry."

"Fishlegs mostly, I imagine, given how you'll be too busy with being a Chief."

Hiccup groaned. "Did you really need to bring that up now?"

"And why not? You're going to be the most powerful man on Berk! The highest position a Viking can aspire to is about to be yours! Why can't I be happy for you? If it was me Stoick had chosen you'd be just as happy!"

"It _was_ you at one time and I was happy for you,"

Astrid hit him in the shoulder again. "Oh don't go talking about that again! We've gone over it enough times already! You're the Heir and that's that."

"I know," Hiccup said heavily. For a moment he wondered idly who was going to be _his_ heir? He quickly put the thought out of his mind and went back to looking at the sky. The green lights were moving around like rivers. The upper sections stretched into the sky like thin candles on large candelabras. They flickered and vanished, reappeared, and vanished again, over and over in random places. The colors changed from shades of green to yellow and even took on a slight red tinge. It was so beautiful he could not help but feel a sense of calm, even after all that had happened today.

He glanced at Astrid, who smiled back. Hiccup's breath hitched as how beautiful she looked with Aurvindil's fire behind her. He sometimes found it hard to believe that the girl whom he had had a crush on for as long as he could remember was now a woman who returned his feelings. At times like this he wondered if he was just fantasizing. But he was not. Here he was not the Dragon King, or the reluctant heir of Berk, or some kid tormented by a loveless past. He was just a man with his arm around a woman's shoulder.

A mere hour ago he had not known when he would do this, but he suddenly made up his mind. He cleared his throat.

"Astrid?"

"Hmm?"

"You know I've had confused and mixed feelings about a lot of people. Well there's one person for whom my feelings are not confused at all."

"Toothless?" she asked lightly.

"That wasn't who I was thinking of, and as a matter of fact, I do feel a bit confused about him sometimes,"

"How so?"

"Well—I—" this was _not_ what he had intended to talk about and he tried to figure out how to get back on the original subject. "Look, I just wonder sometimes what would happen if Toothless ever finds a mate, or if he'll find a mate at all. And sometimes I wonder about how much time we've got left. He's doesn't know himself how long Night Furies live for, and sometimes I wonder if he'll still be around centuries from now…and I wasn't talking about Gobber either, if that's what you're about to ask. He's getting a new apprentice and while, on the one hand, I understand entirely why he has to, I can't help but feel a bit like he's replacing me. No, the person I was talking about is you." He positioned himself so he was kneeling in front of her. "Astrid, I love you. I've loved you for as long as I can remember—"

"But you're breaking up with me because there's another woman?"

"Am I—WHAT?" Hiccup exclaimed.

"Kidding!" Astrid laughed, "You should've seen your face!"

"That's not funny!"

"Oh yes it is and you know it!"

Hiccup pinned her arms to her body so she stopped moving. "I was trying to be serious and you made me lose my train of thought!" His words were softened by a smile.

"Well you'll find it again!" she grinned, "you always do,"

"Yes I do." And now that he held her in his arms he could not wait any longer. "Astrid, I'm not confused about you at all. I was at one time, but not anymore. I love you and I want to share the rest of my life with you. Will you marry me?"

Astrid's grin vanished from her face. " _What_ did you say?"

"Will you be my wife, Astrid?"

Astrid staggered out of his grip and turned away, breathing heavily and looking dazed. Then she turned around and punched Hiccup in the face.

"That's for taking so long to ask!" she shouted. Then she grabbed him, pulled him to his feet, and kissed him on the lips. It did not last very long because they both began to fall apart laughing.

"You never did answer!" Hiccup pointed out, his face bright red and not solely because it had just been punched.

"Of course I'll marry you! What did you think I was going to say?" she laughed.

"You could've said 'no'," he shuddered.

"If I said that I'd deserve to be married to Snotlout! Come here, you!" she hugged him so tightly they fell over into the snow again. They did not care, it just them laugh harder and cling to each other more tightly.

Suddenly Astrid looked worried. "Do you think my mother will approve? I mean, I can't imagine why she won't, but even so—"

"Oh don't worry about that," Hiccup grinned, "remember how I said I'd kept something from you?"

"You—" Astrid suddenly understood. She had suspected but had not had time to dwell on it much during the past few weeks. "You already asked her about this, didn't you?"

"She took even less time to agree to it than you did,"

"And your father?"

"He's been hounding me about it for months,"

"Who else knows?"

"Just Gobber and Camicazi—and anyone she's told. Oh, and Toothless, of course. But they only knew I was going to ask; they didn't know when."

"I was starting to think you'd never ask!" she said accusingly.

"Well how could I ask you after your father died? And then we got so busy with rebuilding Berk and integrating the dragons I felt nobody was ready for a wedding, and then this Dragon Eye stuff turned up…but I've waited long enough."

"So when should we have the wedding? As soon as we get back to Berk?"

"The minute we land! Send a letter telling them to get everything ready for our return!" Hiccup said theatrically. They both knew he was joking, but they also wanted to have the ceremony as soon as possible upon returning.

"I can't wait! Let's head back and tell the others!" she cried, "then we'll find this Eye and head for home!" She tried to get up but Hiccup held her arm.

"I'd rather be here with you a little longer before that, if you don't mind."

"And do we tell your mother?"

Hiccup looked down at the snow. At first he looked grim but suddenly he laughed. "Why not? It's not like she can complain about it! Let her know, let the whole world know, let—" he suddenly froze. "On second thought, maybe we oughta keep it quiet for a little while longer."

"What?" Astrid exclaimed, "Why?"

"Adoncia,"

Astrid frowned in disgust. "What's _she_ got to do with anything?"

"She's chasing us. She might be bringing others after us, now that her other attempts have failed. If they found out we were engaged…"

"I see your point." Astrid said, "But we can't keep it secret forever! They'll find out sooner or later! And how would they find out? Do you think the others can't be trusted to keep quiet about it?"

He raised an eyebrow.

"Ok, bad question. But even so, nobody's stopped us yet! So what if all the Dragon Hunters in the world knew we were engaged? I can still lick a dozen of them, and so can you!"

"You were a bit more cautious and wary when Adoncia first attacked us,"

"That was my way of responding to an emergency. But I'm not going to let fear rule my life and deny me and my friends anything! I'm not letting fear or anything else get in the way of my wedding! Hiccup, we'll tell the others and if word somehow gets out and those Dragon Hunters try to take advantage of it, we'll teach them a lesson they'll never forget!"

Hiccup had felt himself giving in to her decision. "All right. One more kiss, and we'll call Toothless and Stormfly back and break the news."

"I'm looking forward to it," she said slyly.

"The kiss or calling Stormfly?"

"Which do you think, you muttonhead?"

"I don't know, you tell me!"

"How about I show you?" she grabbed him and kissed him again.

Hiccup Horrendous Haddock the Third. He was known as the Dragon King, the Dragon Sorcerer, the Heir of Berk, the Pride of Berk, the Useless, the Fishbone, and a great many other things. And soon he was going to be the husband of Astrid Hofferson.

Maybe the Gods did not hate him so much after all.


	13. Chapter 13

**I Own NothinggnihtoN nwO I**

 **All Rights ReserveddevreseR sthgiR llA**

 **Chapter 13**

 **Day**

When Toothless found out that Hiccup and Astrid were engaged, he pounced on them and started licking them like crazy. Stormfly was just as delighted, but she only gave them one lick each and did not pounce on them.

The rest of the Riders were, of course, overjoyed at the news, though several of them shouted "well it's about time!"

Half jokingly, half seriously, Snotlout got down on his knees and begged Astrid to reconsider, saying she was making a mistake by not marrying the world's best Viking, and offered her a biscuit as if it was a flower. Astrid responded graciously and magnanimously, saying she did not want to marry the world's best Viking.

"And you can't marry the world's best Viking because that would mean marrying yourself, which isn't really feasible," Hiccup whispered to Astrid.

"What do you see in that one legged fishbone anyway?" Snotlout wailed. "What has he got that I don't?"

"He's not a fishbone," Astrid replied, her arm wrapped around Hiccup's shoulders protectively, "to use his own terms, he's a marginally physically impaired Dragon Trainer," And then she punched Snotlout in the face.

"She punched me! She still loves me! Just wait guys, she's only engaged! I'll win her yet!"

"He's going to be one sad and lonely man if he keeps telling himself that," Hiccup remarked to Toothless, who grinned.

Snotlout abruptly changed tactics and intentions. "Say, Heather…I'm a sad and lonely man. I could really use some comforting—" at Heather's command Windshear extended her tail spines and pointed them at him, "—from my own thoughts, yeah, I could really use some comforting from my own thoughts, I'll just go sit over here."

"It does pay to have a dragon handy," she commented.

"So does this mean Astrid's the Dragon Queen now?" Tuffnut asked.

"That's right," Astrid said imperiously. "And now that I am Queen, there will be some changes in court policy. I hereby decree the Boar Pits shall be filled in." She was in a humorous mood.

"This is horrible!" Tuffnut gasped, "Hiccup, don't marry her! She's gonna make Berk _normal_! Don't do this to us!"

"Sorry guys, but a King needs a Queen," Hiccup said lightly.

"But Hiccup, I thought we were all true Disciples of Loki! You can't do this to your fellow Disciples!" Ruffnut wailed.

"Sorry Ruff, but I switched to being a Disciple of Freya,"

"TRAITOR!"

"I'll let you shoot off fireworks at the wedding."

"You will? But we don't have any powder!" Tuffnut said miserably.

"I'll get you some more." Hiccup promised. When in China he had written down the process for producing that combustible powder, and he still had the formula in one of his journals. To preserve Berk, the Twins had never been informed of this.

"Really? Ok, we're good,"

" **Humans** ," Hookfang scoffed.

" **They're an odd species, all right** ," Meatlug agreed.

The only ones who did not give them any congratulations were Valka and Cloudjumper, and that was simply because they were not present. Nobody had seen either of them since they had parted earlier that day, or more correctly the day before, for it was well past midnight before anyone went to sleep.

The next morning Hiccup rose early to go on a morning flight with Toothless. He had planned to ask Astrid to join them but she had looked so peaceful in her sleep that he just could not bring himself to disturb her.

" **Astrid looking peaceful? That's a rarity** ," Toothless laughed when Hiccup told him this. " **How many punches has that shoulder of yours taken**?"

" **Not as many as Snotlout's face**!" Hiccup laughed back, " **Our children will be the most dangerous kids in history**."

" **Already making plans, are we**?"

" **Yes! And whether it's two kids or twenty, I'm going to make sure they get the childhood I never had**!"

" **Shall we start choosing dragons for them? Make sure they're dragons with strong hearts. If those hatchlings turn out to be anything like you, they're going to be pulling crazy stunts all the time and making the rest of us sick with worry."**

" **Do I make you sick with worry?"** Hiccup asked innocently.

" **YOU KNOW VERY WELL YOU DO**!"

Even after riding on a dragon for nearly a decade, Hiccup found flying as wonderful as it had ever been, or perhaps it was because he was in such a good mood. Certainly he had reason for it. Even overlooking his engagement, the sky was cold light blue, the snow lay about in undisturbed piles, the bright and radiant sun reflected off the giant walls of ice, throwing its beams in every direction, and the air felt crisp and refreshing. It was a morning where one might step outside, take a deep and satisfying breath, and go off to conquer a mountain or some other massive undertaking. On mornings such as this, Hiccup felt that he would be the greatest Chief Berk ever had. He might have bidden even someone like Adoncia a 'good morning' had she come by. Speaking of which, ever since they had left Iceland they had not seen a single hint of her, which was gratifying but also a tad unsettling.

They had been flying for a little while when Cloudjumper and Valka caught up with them. Despite Astrid's words the night before, Hiccup was still not at all happy with what he saw as Valka abandoning him. Still, he was in a good mood and recalled how much he had tried to urge others to put the past behind them and move on.

"Good morning!" she called, "did you sleep well?"

"When I actually slept," Hiccup called back. He did not have to behave like a son around her, but he could at least behave civilly.

"Did you have a lot on your mind?"

Hiccup whistled cheerfully. "Oh yeah,"

" **Are you going to tell her**?" Toothless asked quietly. Hiccup thought a moment and shook his head. " **Not yet**."

They flew around in circles for a little while before gliding over the frozen landscape. The air was beginning to rise, which created such powerful uplifts that the dragons almost had no need to flap at all. The uplifts were so powerful that the humans had trouble staying on them.

Valka was clearly enjoying herself. Hiccup could see she loved flying as much as he did. And as he was in a good mood and these uplifts were too good to pass up, he felt a bit theatrical and crazy. So he pulled a lever and jumped off Toothless.

" **Oh not again** ," Toothless groaned. Valka screamed and Cloudjumper recoiled in shock. Seconds later Hiccup was pushed up by the air so he was gliding level with them. He looked perfectly relaxed, as if he was floating on his back in a lake and not several thousand meters above the earth.

"How's this for traveling?" he called to his mom.

"How are you—does your father know about this?" she shrieked.

"Yeah,"

"And he lets you do it?"

"Relax, Mom, I've been perfecting this for years. The only thing to worry about are the—"

At that instant the current of air he was floating on either collapsed or shifted. Either way, he went into free fall.

"Hiccup!" Valka screamed. Toothless, who looked more bored than worried, turned his tail and went into a dive. With perfect ease the two reconnected in midair and made their way back up to Cloudjumper. He and his Rider looked flabbergasted.

"As I was saying, the only thing to worry about is when the air changes on you."

"And falling to your death! That sounds pretty worrisome to me!" Valka shrieked.

"Oh, I had it under control. I let myself fall a little bit first." Hiccup grinned. "Free fall's fun when you've got a way to stop it. You wouldn't believe the things it does to your stomach!"

Toothless looked wearily at Cloudjumper. " **You wouldn't believe how many near heart attacks I've had since he first got this idea**."

" **Then why do you put up with it**?" Cloudjumper demanded.

" **It's called brotherhood. Look into it sometime,** "

They landed on one of the higher places in the nest and commanded an excellent view, according to Valka.

"Well, it's not the top of the Matterhorn, but it's pretty nice," Hiccup remarked.

"You're in rather cheeky mood," Valka commented. "And to think, the last time I saw you, you were a small and frail baby and now…"

"Please don't gesture to all of me," Hiccup interrupted.

"Oh. Well…now look at you." Her face fell. "And where was I the whole time? You took after me, and to think the whole time I assumed you'd be better off without me. If I had known…"

Hiccup's smile faded too. "Until I met Toothless I wished you had. It's not easy growing up with one parent gone and the other largely absent,"

"Did you and Stoick—"

"He took your disappearance hard, and he didn't know how to raise me and run a tribe at the same time. And I wasn't much of the model Viking, so, yeah we grew apart after a while." He suddenly felt he did not want to say anything more. If anything, he wanted to defend his father. "He's doing well, you know,"

"Oh?" she asked, trying to sound disinterested and not fooling anyone.

"He's as tough a leader as ever."

"I'd never expect him to be otherwise," she said quietly.

"He's never remarried either."

She looked a little touched but shrugged it off quickly. "Of course, without a body, I was probably never marked legally 'dead,' so marrying another would be—"

"Incredibly distasteful to him," Hiccup cut in. "He talks to you in Valhalla all the time when he thinks nobody else is listening,"

Valka turned away so he could not see her face.

"If he knew you were here nothing would stop him from flying here himself,"

"He rides a dragon too?" Valka asked disbelievingly.

"Yeah, a Rumblehorn named Skullcrusher."

" **That's a very 'Viking' kind of name** ," Cloudjumper commented scornfully. " **It would be undignified for a Stormcutter, but it sounds quite appropriate for a Rumblehorn,** "

" **Oh he thinks it's very dignified, believe me** ," Toothless said.

There was a long silence that nobody knew how to break.

"I know why you're bringing up him up," Valka said at last, "and I've already been debating this, believe me."

"All right,"

"But just when are you going to return to Berk?" Valka asked, "It doesn't have to be anytime soon, right? There's so much here I can show you! You don't have to go back to Berk yet; stay here a while!" She approached him carefully, "I—I want to make up for my absence!"

Hiccup's attention was caught by the movement of dragons down below. The nest was waking up and everyone was sunning themselves or going for breakfast.

"Mind if we get closer to them?"

Valka looked uncertain. "I don't know…they're not used to humans except me…"

"Relax," Hiccup said, "I've lived with dragons for years. Watch this." He hopped onto Toothless. They flew downwards and over to a group of Typhoomerangs. The dragons looked up in surprise at the sight and growled, but Hiccup raised his hands and began speaking to them. Within minutes he was at home with them and the dragons were completely at ease with him and Toothless being in such close proximity.

Valka's mouth fell opened at the sight. " **They didn't do that when I first joined the nest**!"

" **You were the first human in our nest and knew nothing of our ways** ," Cloudjumper said comfortingly, " **clearly your son has more experience than you did back then** ,"

" **And how did he get that experience**?" Valka said sadly.

" **I have no idea** ,"

The other riders had emerged from their cave and were moving to join them. At the same time Valka and Cloudjumper came in from the other direction.

Hiccup looked very much like a grandfather sitting in a chair with his grandchildren, except the grandchildren in this case were more than five times his own size. "Good morning! I've made some new friends! This one's Torch and this one's Scorch, and this one's Porch,"

" _Porch_?" Snotlout exclaimed.

Hiccup shrugged and smiled. "Their mother intended to name her hatchlings Scorch and Torch, but laid three eggs and couldn't think of any better rhymes."

Valka was flabbergasted at how relaxed he looked. Astrid, who was sitting very close to Hiccup, was delighted by her expression.

They spent a few minutes mingling with the Typhoomerangs, when suddenly one of them lifted its head and uttered a cry. The others instantly responded and spread their wings. What followed was a dizzying display of movement. The dragons spun around in large circles as they rose into the air and flew away.

"So that's why the word 'typhoon' makes up part of their names." Fishlegs said excitedly. "Quick, where are my notes?"

"We've gotta train Barf n' Belch to take off like that," Ruffnut said in awe.

"But where are they going?" Heather asked, following the small flock with her eyes until they disappeared over the horizon.

"It's feeding time for them." Valka explained.

They moved onto some of the other dragons who were sitting around the lake. The Bewilderbeast was easily visible at the other end, and he raised his head as a way of greeting them. Then they came upon a small group of baby Scuttleclaws, a dragon species similar to the Nadder, only instead of spines they had elongated knobs rising out of their backs. The babies at once gathered around Toothless.

" **Well hello there**!" Toothless said in surprise. The babies started making squawking noises and sniffing him.

" **Looks like someone's a father! What have you been doing behind our backs, Toothy**?" Hookfang teased.

" **So does that mean we're all aunts and uncles now**?" Meatlug asked.

The babies looked adorable, with big round and inquisitive eyes and heads that seemed to large for the rest of their small bodies. They started to climb on Toothless. At first he did not mind and tried to tolerate it, but then two started to have a fight on top of his head. When he tried to break it up they all climbed on his back and started trying to pin him to the ground.

" **Hiccup, I could use a little help here! Stormfly? Astrid? Hiccup's mother?** _ **Someone**_ **?"**

" **Sorry Bud, you're on your own**!" Hiccup grinned. The humans were 'oo-ing' and 'awe-ing' at the sight of Toothless being overwhelmed by the hatchlings, and the other dragons were just as amused.

" **Ooh, you just wait till I get free and I'll** —" And then a baby bit him in the tail. " **YEOUCH**!"

The humans were rolling around in the snow because they were laughing too hard. Of the dragons watching, only Cloudjumper did not look amused nor join in the teasing.

" **Undignified** ," he muttered sternly.

" **Oh, come on, Cloudjumper** ," Valka laughed, " **They're just babies. You know they only listen to their mother! Speaking of which—** " For a large purple Scuttleclaw had come over. She screeched and at once the hatchlings rushed over to her, and she began to scold them for wandering off and tormenting strangers.

" **Thank you very much** ," Toothless moaned. " **My poor tail** …"

"The Unholy Offspring of Lightning and Death itself is no match for a bunch of babies!" Snotlout sniggered.

"We're all just one big happy family of humans and dragons!" laughed Fishlegs. At these words Hiccup stopped laughing. So did Stormfly.

"Yeah," he said dryly, but so quietly that only Astrid heard him. "We're one happy family." Stormfly did not speak but looked away from the group after shooting a dirty glance at Windshear.

In the afternoon Hiccup was washing his face in the lake. Toothless had been licking him again before running off to get revenge on those baby Scuttleclaws.

"You know," Valka said, joining him. "I'd always imagined you'd grown up like your father: a tall, muscular man, wild with weapons, always ready for a fight, and very stubborn. That's how your father was in the old days," she smiled sadly at the memory, "whenever I felt troubled about it—and I did many times—I always assured myself that Stoick would take care of you. I thought, since you were all he had left, he would dote on you."

Hiccup snorted.

"I also assumed he raised you to hate dragons. What good would it have done for a woman who lived with dragons to come claiming to be your mother? I thought you would reject me at once. The truth, Hiccup—I was scared to meet you. As the years passed I often wondered what you'd become, and I was too scared to find out how correct I was. I'd often hoped maybe you had taken after me, but I'd always assume Stoick would have it be otherwise. It was one thing for a woman to like something nobody else did. They just called me silly, a dreamer, a child at heart; nobody took me seriously when I said maybe dragons were kinder than we give them credit for. Everyone assumed I'd grow out of it—and Stoick didn't care. He was too happy to be married to me. He just dismissed my thoughts as a small eccentri—eccentri—"

"Eccentricity?" He noticed her Norse had improved considerably since she had started using it again, but every now and then she had trouble.

"Yes, that's the word. Anyway, he didn't listen to me when it came to dragons. I thought you wouldn't either. I couldn't bear the thought of returning to be rejected outright by you. And the longer I delayed, the more likely it seemed that would happen if I returned. So I delayed even more. It was a system that fed itself. And when I finally got the courage to face you, I heard you were dead!"

"Well, thankfully you heard wrong," he replied as he dried himself.

"Yes," Valka laughed. "So…how'd you lose your leg?"

"Have you ever heard of the Red Death? The dragon who controlled the nest at Helheim's Gate?"

"Oh yes, I know about her alright." Valka's eyes narrowed. "Wait a minute. 'Controlled?' But that means she's—" She looked from Hiccup's leg to his face and the pieces came together. " _You_ killed her?"

"Well, technically it was Toothless, but it was my plan. Don't you know dragons aren't so fireproof internally?"

"Yes. So what did you—" her eyes widened. "Toothless shot something down her throat? That's—a bit too simple, actually."

"He also put holes in her wings and tricked her into making a nose dive. So she smashed into the ground and blew up from the inside out."

"And your leg?"

Hiccup tensed up as he remembered. "The tailfin caught fire and failed. We tried to fly away but ran into the Red Death's tail. I fell off. Next thing I knew I didn't need my left boot anymore."

"So how did you—"

"Build a new one?" he smiled. "Simple. Toothless had some Gronkles produce metal, which some Nightmares and Nadders heated up, then I had more Gronkles beat it into the shape I wanted. That was the first leg, anyway. I've perfected the design a lot since then."

"Very impressive," Valka said. "You seem to have quite an eye for inventing and building,"

"Dad put me to work in the forge."

"With Gobber?" she suddenly laughed, "Does he still believe in trolls?"

"Hey! Trolls exist!"

"Really? Have you ever seen one?"

"Well—no, but that doesn't prove a thing!"

"I imagine they don't steal your socks anymore," Valka laughed.

"Guess there's some good to losing the left leg, isn't there?" Hiccup chuckled.

"Speaking of which, has Gobber lost any more limbs?"

"Just the leg and the arm, and he's got some fake teeth,"

"Oh. He had all his teeth when I knew him."

"Perhaps you'd like to see him again?"

She looked away uncertainly and sighed. Further conversation was interrupted by Cloudjumper storming over and shouting that Toothless had stepped on his tail. Toothless was right behind him claiming it was an accident. Hiccup resolved the issue by telling Cloudjumper to stand on the Night Fury's tail. Cloudjumper decided to take the moral high ground and not stoop to such immature levels.

Toothless rolled his eyes at this. " **Good, my tail's been through enough already today**." He turned to his human, " **So have you asked her about what we came for**?" Fishlegs had told them last night what the Dragon Eye could do, and they were both very eager to see it firsthand. At the same time, Hiccup was not quite certain how to bring the subject up.

"Have you wondered why we've come here in the first place?" he asked at last.

"As a matter of fact, I have," his mother replied.

"The fact is…well, to be honest, we came here to find the Dragon Eye,"

Valka at once looked alert and wary. "I should have guessed." she mumbled.

" **Well we weren't looking for a woman we believed dead!** " Toothless exclaimed.

"So, you took it?" Hiccup asked.

Valka did not answer, which he took to mean 'yes.'

"After it was stolen," he went on, "the Defenders of the Wing accused me and threatened Berk if I didn't hand it back. I got them to agree to a joint effort to retrieve it—both to protect Berk and to get the answers to some…personal questions."

"What questions?" she demanded.

"Drago confused the two of us when he was alive. He thought that Cloudjumper had died from his wounds and I'd replaced him with Toothless. I wanted to know who the first Dragon Rider was."

"And what are these Defenders doing in return for this?"

"Visiting Berk and hopefully changing their minds that we're turning dragons into mindless slaves,"

"I doubt they will," Valka said mournfully, "people don't really change,"

" **Hiccup did** ," Toothless pointed out, " **the day he found me in the woods, he changed**."

Hiccup smiled faintly at the memory. " **I didn't really change, Toothless, at least not the way you mean. That was when I realized what I really was and stopped trying to fight against it. I gave up trying to change and started to accept myself for what I was**."

" **That still counts as changing. And Berk changed too!"**

Valka looked skeptical. "Have things really changed? Or is everyone just pretending to go along with it and paying lip service? A dragon may shed its skin but it's still the same dragon."

"And friends may become enemies and enemies may become friends," Hiccup retorted. "That's part of my life in a nutshell."

" **Perhaps you are taking her words too literally** ," Cloudjumper hinted.

" **You're right, and we're getting off topic**. So, Valka, I'd like to know something: why'd you steal the Dragon Eye? Actually, a better question first: how'd you even _know_ about it in the first place?"

"A newcomer—a Snow Wraith—who'd escaped from some Dragon Hunters told us about it, and the plans he had overheard. The Bewilderbeast sent us to take a look. We realized what a danger it posed to us and other dragons, so we took it."

"And now I've come to get it back," Hiccup mumbled, "Life just loves ironies,"

"Hiccup, don't you realize what that Eye could do in the wrong hands? Or did the Defenders not fill you in on that part?" Valka asked, first earnestly and then scornfully.

"Do you think I'd just leave it lying around like a toy?" Hiccup asked sharply.

"The Defenders of the Wing lost it twice in one night. And why should you worry about it? It's safe now. Just tell the Defenders that and ask them to be satisfied."

Hiccup frowned. "And just give up and let them accuse me of failing? Of lying to them? Of breaking my half of the deal? They'd be justified in attacking Berk in that case!"

"And this is what happens when you get involved," Valka said, shaking her head, "you got yourself into a situation and now have no good way out of it. You should have just stayed at home and told the Defenders to take care of their own affairs. That's what we've been doing here."

"How was stealing _their_ device taking care of _your_ affairs?" Hiccup asked sharply.

" **That was to protect our nest**!" Cloudjumper snapped.

"Well, I suggested this trip to protect _my_ nest! They threatened to destroy Berk if I didn't hand over the Eye and I wasn't in the mood for another war! We'd already seen enough of that!" Hiccup retorted.

"Like I said, that's what happens when you get involved." Valka replied.

"' **They who in quarrels interpose will often get a bloody nose** ,'" Cloudjumper added sagaciously.

" **Pardon me for saying so, but we only got involved because** _ **you**_ **got involved first**." Toothless pointed out.

" **To protect our nest**!" Valka insisted, " **We had to get involved because we knew the Hunters were planning to steal the Eye**!"

Hiccup smiled icily. "Ah, yes, 'A Chief protects their own.' Tell me, did Dad get his catchphrase from you or did you get it from him? Of course, it's never explained who actually qualifies as 'their own.'"

Valka was at first amazed and angry at his words, but she tried hard not to let it show. Instead she tried to speak calmly and deliberately. "Hiccup—you're young and an idealist. You think just by talking you can make everything better, but you can't! There are always evil men who only want to further their own ends! There are always people who want to fight, not for any God or honor or loyalty, but because they love fighting or hate the opposing side too much! Kings spend years making deals and treaties, and break them without a second thought a month later! You can't stop any of this, and you only hurt yourself and those you care about when you try to! This is what I mean by people don't change! It's better to just look after your own island and let the rest of the world take care of itself."

"And when I look over at another island and see people are starving and freezing and being treated like slaves by their corrupt rulers, I should do nothing? When I see humans butchering dragons to satisfy old feuds and bloodlust, and dragons being forced to attack settlements by tyrannical Betas, I should do nothing?" Hiccup retorted.

"Well—sure, there's a limit to how long you delay intervening, but—"

"I got involved in trying to end the war with dragons because my conscience told me it was the right thing to do! I've gotten involved with finding this Dragon Eye for the same reason. Never mind all the curiosity, the diplomatic questions, the dangerous information, or the matters of honor: I came looking for the Eye because the Defenders came to me and I felt they should have it back! And keep this in mind, Valka: you stole the Eye. You got involved and put the Defenders in a situation, and they in turn came to us. So if a war breaks out over this, which is possible—like you said, some people love fighting—then everyone who dies in it will be on your head. Just like all who died at the end of the last two wars because you didn't want to get involved that time."

Valka looked him over sternly. "I never imagined when I gave birth to you you'd speak to me like this," she said coldly.

"And I never imagined I'd speak to you at all, so I guess we're both getting surprised," Hiccup retorted.

" **He's gone against a lot of expectations**." Toothless said proudly while Hiccup was speaking.

The humans and dragons just looked at their counterparts on the opposite side for what felt like ages, as if each could make the other back down simply by not blinking.

Valka was the first to finally speak. "Have I really done more harm than good by not getting involved?"

Hiccup could have gone through the list in his head, but only said "Yes."

"But you've done a lot of harm too in doing the opposite,"

Hiccup's voice suddenly turned hoarse. "Yes."

" **So who's done more harm**?" Toothless asked.

" **You have, by being direct participants** ," Cloudjumper said, "the **events that happened by our nonparticipation would have happened regardless**."

Valka sat down on the ice. "This feels really messed up,"

Hiccup nodded numbly. "But since we can't seem to avoid trouble either way, I suppose it comes down to a matter of choice."

"I suppose so. So if I told you where the Dragon Eye is, and if you brought it back safely, what then?"

"The Defenders will take it somewhere safe, I imagine. Then we all go home, I guess." He privately wanted to have a look at the device first and examine its contents, but he kept that to himself.

"How safe can they keep it? Don't forget, they lost it twice in one night,"

"I've been wondering about that too." Hiccup admitted. "Nevertheless, I'm sure they'll be much more careful this time." And if they were not, he might just take it himself to keep it safe. "But the best way to protect the Eye for now, I think, is to ruin those Dragon Hunters so much that they can't possibly hope to steal it. You know, smash the bridge into so many splinters the repair crews can't hope to reuse the timber."

"Nice poetry. But what if they cut new timber and build a new bridge?"

"We'll take care of that if or when the time comes," Hiccup said firmly. "I'm not leaving without the Eye, Mom. I've got my own nest to protect, and the deal was to bring it back. Look, is your concern only that the Eye does not fall into the hands of anyone who'd misuse it?"

"Yes," Valka said after thinking over his words very carefully.

"That's exactly what the Defenders want too! Everybody here just wants to keep the Dragon Eye safe! We should be working together on this, not arguing! So how about this: we'll return the Eye to the Defenders as proof that we found it and kept our side of the deal. Then we will all assist with hiding it for the last time. We could drop it in the middle of the ocean, or perhaps into a volcano. Then we all get what we want!" Yet in his heart he was upset all of the Eye's information would be lost with it.

"The Dragon Hunters will try to stop you," Valka warned.

" **What else is new**?" Toothless asked.

Valka cocked her head to one side, much like Hiccup sometimes did. "Why did you agree to this deal at all? Why not just brave the Defenders to do their worst?"

"I didn't ignore the threats the Defenders made because I didn't know enough about them. For all I knew they had a thousand members or a dozen. I wasn't going to dare them to fight Berk straightaway. So I agreed to do this little favor for them to put them in our debt and asked Dad to do some digging to try and work out how formidable these people really are. I've been essentially stalling for time so we can learn more and figure out if they're better as friends or foes, or not worth bothering about. That was one reason, anyway."

Valka suddenly laughed. "Well, if you can _get_ the Eye, I guess you deserve to have it!" Cloudjumper snorted as well.

"What do you mean? Where is it?" Hiccup asked. Valka pointed behind them. He and Toothless turned around and saw the gray expanse of the nest's lake.

" **That's a problem** ," Toothless said.


	14. Chapter 14

**I Own Nothing**

 **All Rights Reserved**

 **Please Read, Review, and Enjoy!**

 **Chapter 14**

 **0.002 Leagues Under A Lake**

The Riders held a council on a snow bank.

"I'd always thought it was possible the Eye would have been thrown into the sea, but I'd hoped our culprit would have kept it in a secret cave or something," Astrid remarked.

"Well, I suppose Queen Mala will understand. I don't like it, but at least the Eye is somewhere safe, and that's what this task was all about," Heather said slowly, "we did all we could be expected to do. I can't see how we can do more. I suppose we should start preparing to head home and give them the news."

"And just give up?" Snotlout returned indignantly, "Just like that? Come all this way for nothing?"

"I don't like it any more than you do, but how are we supposed to find a box underwater?" Heather snapped.

"Find a Scauldron! Or any Tidal Class dragon! That Bewilderbeast seems capable of swimming: let's ask him to find it for us!"

"There aren't any Tidal Class dragons around here!" Fishlegs interrupted, "No dragon here except the Bewilderbeast is made to stay submerged for any length of time—and why on earth would he agree to do that for us when he and Hiccup's mom are the reason it's underwater to begin with? And even if he did agree to help, how's a Bewilderbeast supposed to pick up a box? He'd crush it first without meaning to!"

"That Dragon Eye's indestructible, isn't it?" Tuffnut countered, "Didn't you Defenders try all kinds of things to destroy it and nothing worked? Obviously you weren't making use of the Thorsten's Destructive Capabilities, but I'm sure you tried your best. The point is: if it's indestructible, the Bewilderbeast can't crush it."

"He could still crush the chest and scatter the contents underwater. That would just make things even worse." Astrid retorted. And she doubted the Defenders had ever tested the Eye's indestructibility against a Bewilderbeast.

The dragons were discussing how to recover the box as well. Stormfly and Hookfang were at once ruled out when it came to swimming. Hookfang, due to his fire attributes, avoided getting wet as much as possible and refused point blank to dive into the lake, while Stormfly's body was not suited for diving. Barf n' Belch were deemed unreliable even without the Twins on their backs. Meatlug's bulk and Windshear's metal were more likely to drown them than help them recover anything, which left Toothless. He could swim and probably withstand the cold waters, but he would still have trouble picking up a box. Heather informed them that the box only had a large iron ring on one end for a handle. She demonstrated with her hands a circle that had a four inch diameter.

" **I'm willing to try, but I don't know how I could pick it up, assuming I even find it,** " Toothless said.

" **Did we come all this way to be thwarted at the last minute**?" Hookfang asked morosely.

Hiccup had sat through the discussions looking thoughtful. Astrid could almost see the wheels in his head turning, and she felt a surge of pride and confidence. If anybody could work out a way to retrieve a box from the bottom of a lake it would be her future husband. How she loved the sound of those last three words!

Some thought made Hiccup's eyes light up. "That just might work. Yes…if we could just…" he pulled out his journal and quickly began to sketch. "Add this—no, no, put it there, that way the arms are free—the flame won't last long, of course, but we'll have to make—"

There was an unspoken rule among them to not break his train of thought when he was designing something. It was a rule Snotlout forgot about because he loudly demanded that Hiccup let them in on the plan and know what was to be done.

"What? Oh, right, yes…ok…" he looked over his sketched and gave directions rapidly. "Fish, Valka said she threw the box into the lake. I need calculations for how far it could have been thrown. Give it your best estimate."

"You need a radius and general location?"

"A what?" Ruffnut asked. Hiccup ignored her and nodded.

"Right…Ruff, Tuff, once Fishlegs has a search area worked out, I want you to take a rope and measure the water depths. Snotlout, I want you to collect lots of sand and fist sized rocks—especially lots of rocks. I'm going to need to borrow Hookfang and Meatlug, and…yes, Stormfly, I'll need you too: I highly doubt there's a forge here. Astrid, I need you to get all the blankets and spare clothes we've got—anything you can find that will keep a person warm. Heather, help her out. Put everything in a corner by our campsite."

"Right, but what are you going to do with all of this?" Heather asked. She had to ask twice because Hiccup had gone back to his sketching and was unresponsive at first.

"Hmm? Oh. Well, if I do this right, we're going to send a human deeper than—this will have to be at least a third higher than the water—sorry, we're going to—no, this has to be—" he walked away sketching and talking to himself.

"Well, that's the last we'll be seeing of Hiccup for the week," Astrid laughed. "C'mon, let's get the stuff he wants,"

Astrid was not far from wrong. Hiccup spent nearly 6 days using a makeshift forge in one cave that had an opening in the ceiling. During that time he only left the room for flights on Toothless. He took his meals as he worked and irregularly, slept by his work space and irregularly, and anyone who wanted to talk with him had to go to him, because he would not leave the cavern until he was finished. They heard the hammer going day and night. Sometimes it would stop for hours and then start up again in the middle of the night and wake everyone up. Hookfang and Stormfly provided him with the heat he wanted, while Meatlug gobbled down rocks to produce the metals. At one point he sent her to tell the other Riders to bring him a candle and a lantern, mentioning in one of his bags he carried the pieces for a constructible lantern. As all of his bags had so many pockets it took them over an hour to find what he wanted. And all the while the hammering went on, accompanied by him shouting directions to the dragons or himself.

"Is he always like this?" Valka asked Astrid one evening.

"Only when he's got a project going,"

"And how often does he have these 'projects' going?"

"No idea. He usually never tells anyone what he's working on until it's finished. He saves time that way."

Valka shook her head with a rueful smile.

Astrid continued. "It's funny, the way he goes about it. He gets frantic when he can't find something to write on. When he's scribbling down his plans, his brain is moving so fast that he's already correcting his sketches before they're finished. He never thinks about himself when he's building these things. Personal safety, possible injuries, they mean nothing to him—he'd test an invention even if he knew it would throw him out a window—or worse. And when you try to drag him away from his work, he still can't stop thinking about it, unless you try really hard to distract him." Astrid smiled fondly. "And yet he almost always agrees to stop work if Toothless or I ask—unless he's doing something extremely delicate, but we leave him alone if that's happening."

"Doesn't it worry you he might take this kind of work too obsessively?" Valka asked.

"It did a little, but then I realized something. Once Hiccup becomes Chief, he won't get much time to invent anymore. So why not let him enjoy it now, while he still can, before he has to give it up?" Astrid looked at Valka uncomfortably. It felt weird to be around her. This was her future mother in law and they knew virtually nothing about each other. Did she even know about her and Hiccup?

"Um…Mrs—Valka? I'm sorry, but I don't know what to call you,"

"Valka's fine. I'm not sure I have the right to use my last name," Valka's face fell. "I wanted to come back so much, but I always felt it would do no good. Either I would have stayed and lived a lie, or would have had to leave my family outright. It seemed better to let them believe I was dead until I had something worth bringing back to them."

"Much as I hate to rub the guilt in, Hiccup needed you and so did Stoick," Astrid said.

"Do I detect self-reproach in your tone?" Valka asked.

"Yeah," Astrid said. If they were going to be related she might as well know the gist of their lives. "You've probably worked out that Hiccup didn't have an easy childhood."

"I have, though he won't tell me much except in hints,"

"We all abandoned him," Astrid said, "or we bullied him. I'm glad I can say I never did that, at least I don't think so, but I sometimes wonder if ignoring him was worse."

"Why did you ignore him?" Valka asked. "I don't want to accuse you, I just want to understand."

Astrid thought a moment. "I wanted to be the best. Looking back, I don't know what I wanted to be the best in or what that even meant—I guess I just wanted to excel in everything I could. I felt my families honor was compromised and I had to restore it. And anything or anyone that threatened to damage my reputation had to be avoided. Avoiding Hiccup meant avoiding blame for his mistakes." She shook her head, "and when he first returned, you know one thing I've noticed? He didn't care what anyone said about him. I mean, the Jorgenson's insulted him all the time and he either insulted them back or just ignored it. And it made me realize something: my family's honor was only compromised because I believed it was. My family was already as honorable as any other, only I didn't see it. I was trying to fix something that didn't really need fixing. I should have known people would have teased us regardless of what we did. That's what friends in a community do. Heck, that's what we do all the time to each other! But we still stick together when it matters most. I wasn't like that when I was younger." She scowled, "I was vain, self absorbed, so interested in being the perfect Viking that I forgot what it meant to be a good person. And while I won't give Hiccup the whole credit, he did help me snap out of this mindset. He helped me realize there was something beautiful in this world more important than what people say about you," she looked at Valka nervously.

"Have you ever told him this?" Valka asked at length.

"Not exactly in words, but I like to think I do with my actions. You see, Valka… pretty soon I'm going to be your daughter-in-law."

Valka's eyes widened slightly. "My—good heavens! You and Hiccup—?"

Astrid just smiled.

"He didn't tell me any of this," Valka said sadly.

"I imagine he was waiting for the right moment and it didn't come," Astrid said quickly, "Or maybe he felt I should be the one to tell you,"

"Maybe," Valka said doubtfully. "All right then, if you are going to marry my son, I suppose we should do this traditionally." She drew herself up. "What kind of dowry can you offer my son?"

"A good one!" Astrid said earnestly, "We have a good house with good furnishings and property, the Hofferson's have a solid reputation on Berk, we're well off, we're tenacious fighters, and we—"

"Can you give him sons?"

"Can I—excuse me?"

"That's what Stoick's parents asked me. I don't mean o-fence. But since we're talking about it…"

"We haven't really discussed children much," Astrid blushed. Nevertheless, as the wife of the Chief, it would be her sacred duty to provide him with heirs. "I've never doubted I'm…fertile,"

"Yet your parents only had you. Why didn't they have more children?" Valka asked. The reason was a tragic one. During the long wars with dragons, pregnant women and children were especially vulnerable during raids. Consequently, many couples did not have as many children as they might have wanted. Over the years many women had been shocked so badly by the most violent raids they had suffered miscarriages. Giving birth at any time was dangerous, but the stress and anxiety of a dragon attack, not to mention the physical danger, could easily make a pregnancy fatal for both the mother and child. Subsequently, even as their need for future warriors grew more urgent, many couples had opted to take the risks as few times as possible.

Valka understood when Astrid explained this to her. She knew it herself perfectly well. She just wanted to know if Astrid was aware of it. "Then you understand you risk death if you have children,"

"Yes. But since there's peace with dragons, it won't be as bad as it used to be." She added brightly.

"You also understand everyone will _expect_ you to give him children. And they'll expect sons,"

"Well…I don't know about that," Astrid said carefully. "A lot of Berkians didn't mind the fact that I was going to be the next Chief for a while. I think most wouldn't mind what the sex was, so long as they were capable of leading." After all, Hiccup the boy had been a weakling, while Astrid the girl had been a born fighter. Sex did not determine ability. "Besides, I doubt Hiccup would mind." She suddenly imagined them cradling their first child and a broad smile came to her face. Oh Gods, she wanted to get this mission over with and get married.

Valka was not convinced by what Astrid said, but at the same time, what did she know about Berkian temperament these days? "So, a good dowry, a good name, a good chance of producing heirs—as far as I can I approve. Just answer me one last question: do you two actually care about each other?"

"Of course we do!" Astrid cried.

"Are you certain?"

"How can I doubt it after what we've been through together? I'm not saying I can't live without him, because I know very that I can, but I don't _want_ to live without him. He needs me. And I need him. I love your son, Mrs. Haddock, and there's no other man in this world I would rather have for a husband. And I'm honored he wants me to be his wife. I know it's not really Viking custom, but it's not against Viking custom either."

While Viking law meant both sides had to agree to the match, generally speaking love between spouses only began after their wedding, not before it. Love between unmarried people was not usually encouraged, though it was certainly not illegal. Still, who did not enjoy the romantic charm of marrying for love? Valka certainly enjoyed the notion, as that was what had happened to her.

"I'm glad to hear you say so," Valka smiled, "And while I can't really judge, I hope you can…I hope you give my son the love he needs,"

"I can and I will. And anyone who doubts it will get a black eye," Astrid said confidently.

Heather came over to join them. She groaned as she sat down. "He's at it again! He'll be hammering all night at this rate! I tell you, Astrid, if he channels this kind of enthusiasm and energy into the Chiefdom, you're going to have the greatest Chief in history,"

"But not at the cost of his friends and family," Astrid said, a little sharply. Stoick had put so much enthusiasm and energy into the Chiefdom he had neglected his only son in the process.

Toothless, who had left the makeshift forge cavern to get some fresh air, overheard some of these last remarks and snorted. " **I don't think she needs to worry. He swore to me that if he ever had children, he would give them the childhood he never had. I imagine he'll care more about keeping that promise than running Berk. I just hope he has time for me,** " he looked back to the forge cavern with a hint of sadness in his eyes.

When Hiccup revealed his work to everyone at last, they were not impressed. Rather, they were all confused. The project that had taken up so much time appeared to amount to some socks tied to a rope, a lantern, and a cylindrical knight's helmet attached to two very long pipes. He did not let the lack of enthusiasm curb his own, however, and displayed his work with a great deal of excitement.

"Now, for a person to search underwater, there are five major problems confronting us. First is getting deep enough. Since humans tend to float in water, I need something to weigh me down, yet also something that I can dispense with at once should anything go wrong, and something that will keep my hands free for other uses. And so we have this," he picked up the socks, "The toe ends are tied to the rope, which is then slung over my shoulders. These will be filled with rocks, with the openings pointed downwards and pinned shut. Now, strings will be attached from the pin to my pants. The rocks will weigh me down, but if I need to dispense with them I pull on the strings, the pins are pulled out of the socks, and the rocks fall out."

Everyone had to admit it was clever, but a bit underwhelming after the weeklong anticipation. Hiccup moved on to the next problem.

"The second problem is a matter of visibility. Thanks to Fishlegs we know approximately where the box is located, and thanks to the Twins, we know the general depth of the area is roughly 10 meters. Obviously at those depths it's going to be murky. To offset that, the recovery expedition _must_ be done on a sunny day, and to even the odds, this lantern is watertight. The candle won't burn for very long, I'm afraid, but it should be sufficient. Now, to keep the arms free, the lantern will be attached to a ring on the diver's chest."

Everyone nodded again.

"Now the third problem is staying warm. For that, Heather and Astrid have gathered all the furs and clothes they could find. This also means the dives will have to be fast, because even with extra layers it's still going to be freezing. We'll be lucky if anyone stays underwater for a quarter of an hour. What we'll do is take a section and quickly search it, come up for air and warmth, and repeat the process until successful. Hookfang will see to it the diver gets warm once they surface.

"The fourth problem is the obvious one: air. Now, this helmet here is water proof, and has been fastened to this vest. I've cut a hole in the front and covered it with a glass plate, for visibility."

"Will that be secure?" Fishlegs interrupted.

"Glass can withstand considerable pressure. Anyway, these two pipes are over 20 meters long, so there's no risk of water getting in through the openings. They're attached to the back of the helmet and point upward, connecting the diver's head with fresh air." He grinned, "these pipes will also solve the fifth problem: getting to the right location. Obviously if these dives have to be fast, the diver can't waste time walking to the search area. Meatlug and Barf n' Belch will grab the upper ends of these pipes and carry the diver through the air to the right place, then lower them into the water. They will then stand by to pull them out if needed, for with these pipes opened to the air we can also communicate with them. Put all of this together and that box is as good as found! Any questions?"

"Yeah," Snotlout said loudly, "exactly who's gonna do this?"

"I am, of course,"

This sparked an instant uproar. Snotlout wanted to do it because he was tired of not getting the important tasks. The Twins both wanted to do it because of the risk. Fishlegs saw one reason for why Hiccup wanted to do it: he would be perhaps the first man in history to walk underwater. That was a distinction Fishlegs did not want to pass up either. Astrid was against Hiccup risking his life so willingly. Heather did not much care who tried it so long as someone did and yelled for silence. And all of the dragons supported their Riders, except Toothless, who agreed with Astrid.

They finally settled the question by drawing icicles. Tuffnut had the shortest. The other boys were convinced he secretly broke his icicle to make it the shortest, but nothing could be proved and the girls would hear no further arguments.

They had to wait until mid-afternoon for the weather to clear. While waiting they prepared Tuffnut for his mission. They put so many layers on him he looked like a big fat bear, much to Snotlout's amusement. It was hard not to laugh when he tried to walk around.

"I can barely move my legs and I can't put my arms down!"

"You wanted to do this," Hiccup reminded him.

"You didn't include the full dress code in the job description! This is a violation of my inalienable rights as a Dragon Rider and a Loki Disciple!"

"Would you rather we violated your rights to privacy and threw you in naked?" Snotlout sniggered.

"You'll thank us for all the clothes when you get underwater," Hiccup added, "now, let's get the helmet and pipes on you. And remember, Tuff, you're doing this for us, mankind, and science, so try to act dignified and remember to make observations to record for posterity."

Because he could not stand up with 20 meter pipes attached to his head, Tuffnut had to lie on the ground while they attached the helmet and make it watertight. The lantern was attached to his chest, but they would not light it until the last minute.

"And remember this too, Tuff. We don't expect you to find the box on the first dive. You're just to start looking for it and make certain everything works. And if there are any problems, be sure to—"

"Hiccup, the sun's coming out and there aren't any clouds around it now," Astrid called to them.

Hiccup gestured to Meatlug and Barf n' Belch. "Pick him up,"

"Wait a minute! Be sure to what?" Tuffnut screeched. His voice echoed through the pipes.

"Be sure to take a deep breath and scream," Snotlout sniggered.

"Seriously?"

"Actually, yes," Hiccup said. "Scream for us to get you out of the water. Oh, don't worry, Tuff. Have some faith in my ability to invent!"

"How many times did you test this before showing it to us?"

"Well, since I'd intended to be the first person to use it…"

"You never tested it, did you?" Tuff groaned.

"Nothing beats experience."

Tuffnut suddenly laughed. "Let's do it! This is gonna be so cool!"

The two dragons grabbed a pipe and lifted Tuffnut into the air. Hiccup took Tuffnut's usual place on Belch's neck. They then flew in low over the lake and made their way to the search site. The others were sitting on the shore, armed with blankets and towels. Astrid was right: there were no clouds about to block the sunlight. The time had come. Fishlegs quickly lit the lantern and sealed it shut. Then the dragons lifted Tuff into the air again and carried him over the ocean. At Hiccup's command they slowly lowered Tuffnut into the water.

"Remember, Tuff, you're doing this for us, mankind, and science!" Hiccup yelled into the pipe as best as he could.

"I know!" Tuffnut yelled back impatiently. Hiccup felt a wave of relief. The communication method worked.

Hiccup might have wanted to record this for posterity, but Tuffnut soon lost interest in doing so. He had been hoping to see something like the Kraken or a sea serpent, or even some kind of bug-eyed undersea dragon. But all he saw was a murky blue-gray mass in every direction. Now and then a sudden movement caught his eye but he could not turn his head very much. His lantern soon went out, but its usefulness had been negligible.

The deeper he went the stronger the pressure around him grew. He felt like he was being slowly squeezed. The water seemed to pound on his helmet as if it was a drum. The extra clothes were getting soaked and soon the chill of the water began to settle in. Tuffnut normally would not have blamed Hiccup, who after all had done what he could with what he had, but at this point he mentally criticized Hiccup for creating an imperfect design.

Slowly they lowered him to the bottom. Now things became more interesting. Tall fanlike weeds rose from rocks and swayed gently, like hung up laundry in a light breeze. The ground seemed to be literally made of nothing but pebbles. Every time he took a step his foot half disappeared into the debris, and a small cloud of silt rose around his leg. Now and then he saw solitary fishes. Most were steel gray, and to him they all had a clueless expression that went well with their opened mouths. He imitated their expressions.

"Tuff, how's it going?" Hiccup shouted down.

"Fine—I think!" Now that he was on the bottom he felt a bit better. He still felt the pressure and the cold, but he was slowly getting used to them. And now he could see why Hiccup had been so interested in being the first underwater. It was as though he was on another planet. True, aside from the many weeds and the fish there was little to see, but everything moved so strangely that he could not help but be excited.

Before he moved onto the business at hand he made certain the pipes were doing their job and tried to feel if any water was leaking in. Once he was satisfied he started searching for the box. It was not easy to move around, for the dragons still held onto the pipes. At first they tried to move him around, with him shouting directions, but after a few botched attempts somebody, most likely Hiccup, though he could not hear too clearly, ordered the dragons to let go but keep close. Even though he could now move anywhere he pleased, moving underwater with giant pipes attacked to his back and head was incredibly cumbersome.

Up on the surface the others were waiting anxiously.

"How's he doing?" Ruffnut called to the people on dragons.

"For the fourth time, he says he's doing Fine," Fishlegs called back. Then to Hiccup he said "don't you think he's been down there long enough?"

Hiccup glanced at the sun and leaned towards the nearest pipe. "Tuff, how's it going? Have you found anything yet?"

"Fine,"

"Right, well, I think that's enough for the first dive. Shall we pull you out now or wait a few more minutes?"

"Not yet, just let me—wait a minute, what's that?"

"What's what?" Hiccup called back, trying to suppress a wave of excitement.

"I think I—yes! I see something!"

"It might just be a rock," Fishlegs reminded them.

"No, it's—just let me turn a little and I—oh no,"

"What?" Hiccup asked.

"My helmet's leaking."

The excitement in Hiccup was punctured at once. "Pull him out," he ordered.

Tuffnut heard the order and shouted back "No, wait, I see the box! It's right in front of me! Just give me a minute!" He had tried to turn his entire head and the helmet's seam had cracked. Cold water was trickling down his hair and collecting around his neck. But the box he saw was only about four meters ahead of him. "I'll get it, just hang on a minute!"

"Tuff, we'll find it on the next dive,"

The water was halfway up his neck now. He started staggering forward but the faster he moved the faster the water came in. Maybe Hiccup was right. There was no sense in almost drowning like this, right?

But would Hiccup or Astrid give up with the objective so close?

"No, don't pull me out, it's not up to my chin yet, just give me another—"

Up above, Hiccup swallowed and gave him the benefit of the doubt. "All right, but I'm counting down from 30 starting now."

"That'll do," he hoped. The leak was getting larger. The water was up to his chin. It stung his skin like crazy, and why did it have to be so darn cold?

But the box was less than a meter away. He slowly raised his arms. It felt like he was playing Blind-man's Bluff.

"…13…"

"I can do this, I can do this!" He went into a squat and fed his hand around the iron ring. He had it! And only then did he become aware that the water had reached his mouth. He could not speak now without his mouth filling up. All he could do was to wait for Hiccup to finish the countdown. The water was climbing its way up to his nose. He inhaled at the last second and hoped it would be enough.

"…2…1…pull!" Hiccup shouted.

Tuffnut at once felt himself being lifted through the water, much more quickly than the descent. But he was still underwater, so the water in his helmet was still rising and he still could not breathe.

He inhaled. He could not help it, it had just happened and a bunch of water went into his nose. He could not help the reaction either and opened his mouth to sneeze and spit, and so a bunch of water went into his mouth. And then suddenly the pressure was gone and the murky gray water was replaced by white snow and a blue sky. The dragons flew him to shore so quickly he felt like a kite. They planted him on the ground and Ruffnut seized his helmet and tore it off.

"You stupid, stupid, stupid, stupid, stupid—" she shouted over and over as her brother coughed and gasped.

"I got the box," he gagged.

"You almost drowned!" Ruffnut shouted. He had rarely seen her look so scared.

"But I got the box," he repeated weakly. "And I'm freezing cold!"

Astrid and Heather helped him to his feet and began pealing the wet clothes off of him, while Fishlegs threw a towel around his head.

Hiccup said sternly. "Tuff, you did a really good job—but if there is ever a next time you are not to nearly drown yourself!"

"Oh well," Tuffnut groaned. His teeth were chattering now. An ignited Hookfang had been sitting on a rock, so they guided Tuffnut over to it and set him down on it. "Ohhhhhh, this is better than a hot bath!" he sighed in relief. By now he was stripped to his under garments.

Once they were certain he would be all right, Hiccup went over to the chest. "So," he mumbled, "now we finally see what we've all nearly died recovering," Unlocking it with an iron key Heather had handed him, he raised the lid and looked inside.

Valka was stumped. She had only gone along with Hiccup's recovery project because she did not believe it would actually work. And yet it had on the first try!

" **We should have dropped it into the middle of the Atlantic** ," Cloudjumper said.

" **He probably would still have found it** ," Valka replied, half sadly, half proudly.

" **And do we let them keep it? You know we stole it in the first place to keep it from falling into the wrong hands. Are we just going to let them fly away with it now**?"

Valka swallowed. Stealing from the Defenders had been one thing, but to steal something from her own son? He would know at once who had done it, and it would destroy what little relationship they had started creating. " **We must discuss this with the Bewilderbeast.** "

Snotlout peered over Hiccup's shoulder and could not conceal his disgust. "A fancy copy of your spyglass thing. Oh, _wonderful_! We came all this way and risked death who knows how many times for _this_?"

Heather quickly came over and had a look. "That's right, Snotlout. Count up the lenses. There should be 24."

"What's this Snow Wraith tooth doing here?" Hiccup asked curiously.

"It's the Key. That's the only way to make the Eye work." Heather replied, "Oh and I didn't just tell you that,"

"Of course," Fishlegs quickly agreed.

" **There's one thing I'm worried about** ," Meatlug said to Toothless, " **everybody's been saying how this thing should not fall into the wrong hands. Wasn't it safe enough where it was? Don't you think recovering it is the opposite of keeping it safe**?"

" **It's only temporary** ," Toothless assured her, " **and who knows? Perhaps this'll lure the most prominent hunters into the opened**."

" **But the Hatchling opposes us killing unless it's for self defense! And I oppose it too**!"

" **Imprisonment would work just fine. But if he tries what I'm thinking about right now, it** _ **will**_ **be in self defense** ," Toothless said in a tone worthy of Queen Mala.

"How exactly does this work?" Hiccup asked eagerly, picking up the Dragon Eye. The scientific side of him had been very active today. He wanted to examine everything, make sketches in his journal, perhaps even dismantle the device, study each component, and reassemble it. It was like there were hundreds of secrets to discover and he could not wait to get started.

Unfortunately, Heather counted up the lenses, took the Eye from him, and shut it in the box, albeit reluctantly. "Her majesty said that nobody was to use it," she said.

Hiccup was indignant. "I just wanna have a look!"

"No," Heather said, but she hated to say it. "Queen Mala's orders were—"

"We won't tell her!" Snotlout exclaimed. "She'll never know!"

"That's rich, considering just a minute ago you thought this was useless."

"Don't call it that," Hiccup said with unexpected sharpness.

"That _is_ pretty much what Snotlout implied, Hiccup," Fishlegs said timidly, "And I agree, if Heather thinks orders are worth following…"

"Don't you want to have a look?" Hiccup exclaimed, "Think of what we could learn from this, Fishlegs! Information only accessible by using a dragon! How'd anyone manage to make such a thing? Heck, I could probably spend all week just examining the mechanisms before I ever looked at what it contains!"

"Hiccup," Astrid interrupted, "Heather had her orders, and we're bound by diplomacy and friendship to respect them,"

Hiccup looked at her for a minute and then shook his head, as if to ward off a trance. "Sorry, Heather. My…scientific curiosity got the better of me. On the other hand…I really wish I could find out where the Isle of Night is." He looked regretfully at Toothless.

"I'll talk to Queen Mala about it, but I doubt it'll do any good." Heather said. "And remember, that requires every lens, and I don't know if she plans to retrieve the final one. I don't even know where it's hidden."

A much improved Tuffnut and his sister joined the group. "So…now what?"

 **Authors Note: I just want to make one thing very clear: NOTHING in this chapter was inspired, in any way, shape, or form, by Season 6 of Dreamworks Dragons. It was finished weeks before Season 6 was released and much of it was thought up months prior. So you can imagine my surprise and delight when I saw the episode "Dire Straits." My first thought was "they stole my idea!" I got a good laugh out of it.**


	15. Chapter 15

**I Own Nothing**

 **All Rights Reserved**

 **Chapter 15**

 **Bound For Home**

Draccus rolled over gasping for air. "You really know how to exhaust a man,"

"I've had a lifetime of practice," the woman lying beside him smiled archly. "Want me to exhaust you some more?"

"Later. Later," he smiled at the thought, and then grew serious, "First, tell me what happened on your mission. Did they retrieve the Eye? Will Viggo succeed in getting what he wants?"

"I don't know. I lost them after Iceland. I decided I'd fulfilled my orders enough, so I came back."

"And was Viggo displeased?"

"Not at all. I probably killed one or two of his friends, as Viggo wanted. It doesn't matter much to him what happened, so long as Hiccup finds the Eye, which I believe he will. Hiccup is a very determined man; and quite an attractive one too!"

Draccus groaned in frustration. "Then Hiccup can't return. The Eye must not come to Viggo!"

"Why do you want it that way, Mi Amor?" she purred in his ear.

But Draccus was not one to be caught by a pretty face. Or so he told himself, anyway. "I merely think it would be safer to kill the Dragon King and be done with it. He's too dangerous to the Dragon Hunters to be left alive. And I think Viggo is making a mistake in trying to manipulate him to bring us what we want."

"Ah," she sighed, "And you know, Mi Amor, I agree,"

"You do?"

"Sí. I've known Hiccup for a long time." She gestured to her missing eye, the only part of her body that was not beautiful and the only part covered. "This happened because of him and his allies. And I only escaped by hiding among the prisoners they sent to Berserk for ransom. There were so many prisoners nobody ever noticed an extra. Muy estúpido!"

"Very clever," Draccus grinned.

"I know. So if you want me to go and kill him, just say so."

"And you'd do it?"

"Sí. But you are aware, I trust, that killing him now means he can't bring us the Dragon Eye, which means all of Viggo's plans will be for nothing." She climbed onto him and very slowly started licking his chest.

"That's just what I want, Adoncia," Draccus grinned. In the rush of the moment he forgot about the caution he prided himself in a few minutes earlier. He grabbed her shoulders. "Listen to me, Adoncia. Let Viggo fail. Then he'll be ousted. Then we can be the ones pulling the strings, not my brothers. There's nothing we can't accomplish together. Help me become leader of the Hunters and you'll get whatever you want,"

"Right now I want you," she whispered. "Let Hiccup live a little longer. Just for now, forget him and the Eye and your brothers. We'll get to work in the morning."

"I reckon I can wait that long." Draccus grinned wolfishly.

It was amazing what a beautiful body could accomplish. By this point Draccus's caution was completely forgotten; his discretion was like butter over a fire. In between kisses, Draccus told her all about how left out he always felt and how he wanted to be the one in charge. She sympathized completely, urged him to do exactly what he planned, and swore she would help him in every way possible.

That morning Ryker Grimborn was having his customary breakfast of meat and gruel, when the servant girl barged in to say the Spanish prostitute wanted to see him and his brother.

"For the last time, you will treat me with the respect I deserve!" he shouted after her.

"I already do," she shouted back before getting out of earshot.

"I hope Viggo breaks her soon, because I can't stand much more of it!" he grumbled. Adoncia came in, looking rather disheveled but with a triumphant look in her eyes. She blew Ryker a kiss and walked upstairs. Ryker decided to stay where he was and finish his breakfast. She did not return until sometime after he was done.

Well?" he said impatiently.

"Draccus is plotting against you and Viggo. He wants me to kill Hiccup at once and not let you get the Dragon Eye,"

Ryker at once grabbed his sword. "Why that foul little—I'll slaughter him like a pig!"

Adoncia was not fazed by the anger. "Viggo wants him alive for the moment."

Ryker froze. To displease Viggo again would be a huge blunder. "Why?"

"Perhaps," Adoncia suggested slyly, "since I am pretending to be an ally of Draccus, I can find out how far this treason extends,"

Ryker put his sword away. "All right. If Viggo ordered it, it will be so—but not for long!"

"Viggo wants him alive and watched until the Eye is ours."

"I'll do the watching," Ryker suddenly grinned. "He's always wanted to be involved in the family business!"

"That's just what Viggo has in mind. Meantime, I have to go. We must know if the Dragon Eye has been found and where Hiccup will bring it."

"And set up an ambush?" Ryker grinned.

A little while later, Eret son of Eret was walking down a corridor fuming. He was bored and tired of everything. Tired of being a hunter with no work, tired of all the spying and vague double talk everybody seemed to be going on about these days. He just wanted things to be simple again. In the past it was catch the dragon, deliver it, collect the rewards, and have a mug of mead later. There were no schemes, no questions of ethics, no grandiose plans, and no questions of loyalty. It was just honest men at work for an honest reward. And he blamed the Dragon King. He respected the man, certainly. He knew the man had done some good things, but the fact remained if the King had not come, dragon hunting would still be profitable and there would be no problems with its management.

Adoncia caught up with him. He knew perfectly well what kind of woman she was and despised her, yet when he saw her wearing a riding outfit that really brought out the shape of her body, he could not help but stare and feel his heart beat a little faster.

"Buenos dias, Mi Amor," she said seductively.

"Good morning," he said stiffly. He wondered if this woman ever stopped acting voluptuously. "Are you off again?" he gestured to the bag she was carrying.

"Sí. But first, Viggo sent me to ask you something. He hears you're unhappy with the way things are."

"Aren't we all?" Eret asked evasively.

"True. But he hears—to his _great_ displeasure—that you were thinking of giving up and finding some new occupation. He knows, of course, it isn't true. He knows the great Eret, son of Eret, would _never_ abandon dragon hunting."

"Of course not," Eret said quickly, "but first give me dragons to hunt."

"You know we need the Dragon Eye for that now."

"Do we really?" Eret asked. He was somewhat skeptical that this Eye was some miracle device that would solve everything. It sounded to him like the gold at the end of the rainbow.

"Sí. And Viggo wants you to help us get it. You might want to consider that not helping us in this great matter would make him very unhappy—and it would be _such_ a shame to learn that Eret, son of Eret, was not a devoted member of our little business."

Eret swallowed. "What does Viggo want me to do?"

Adoncia grinned.

Way out somewhere in the middle of Greenland, completely unaware of what was going on in the rest of the world, Hiccup was lying in a pile of snow.

" _Out on ice caps_

 _We sketch out maps_

 _To lead us safely home_

 _We leave tonight_

 _When the moonlight_

 _Is really_ —

All right, what rhymes with 'home'?" He mused, tapping his charcoal stick against his head. " **Hmm. Rome, roam, foam, gnome,—doesn't really make sense. Oh well, anyway, Bud, I've got the route finalized. We'll return to Iceland, then make for the Hebrides, and from there move east to Berk! It'll be more direct this time. There's no need to detour around England and Ireland.** "

" **Works for me** ," Toothless said impatiently. " **Can we get going now? You guys have been packing all day!** "

"How about 'when the moonlight/is really bright'?" Snotlout suggested, smug at his own poetic genius. He was strapping his pack onto Hookfang to make sure it fitted properly.

"That doesn't fit the rhyming scheme," Hiccup retorted. Sometimes it was annoying and troublesome having conversations in two different languages at the same time. "Ruff, Tuff, how's the diving gear coming?"

A loud bang was heard.

"Sounds like it's coming well, I'd say,"

Toothless was appalled. " **You spent nearly a week making that and now you've had the Twins destroy it**?"

" **Well it's too cumbersome to carry and they have no use for it here**! **Although, some of the pipes might have come in handy as spare weapons…ah, but we're armed enough; and we're carrying that box too. We've got enough bulky things to deal with. Relax bud, I've got the designs. We'll build an improved version when we get back. And this time** _ **I'll**_ **be the one to use it.** "

They had decided to leave at night, hoping any spies or pursuers would not expect it. Windshear would carry the Eye, and as it was in a cumbersome box, the rest of Heather's gear, baring personal items, was divided amongst the others. Heather allowed Hiccup to hide the Snow Wraith Key in his prosthetic, as a precaution. The lenses were also distributed amongst everyone excluding Heather. This way, if any of them were captured, their captors would gain little materialistically. It also meant if any of them got lost or killed, the items they had would likely be lost with them, but that risk existed no matter what choices and precautions they took.

Astrid clapped her hands together. "Well, that's the last of our gear. All that's left is to wait for nightfall!" Then she decided to double-check everything.

"Hey Hiccup…" Heather gestured to one of the passages. Valka was emerging from it. Hiccup, uncertainly, went over to her.

It had felt awkward enough saying goodbye to his father back on Berk, but this was downright uncomfortable. What exactly was he to really say?

She shifted her weight uncertainly and looked at her feet. "So, you're off?"

"Tonight,"

"I don't suppose there's any chance you'll stay longer?"

"We got what we came for," Hiccup said evasively.

"Yes you did," Valka's nervousness vanished at once. "And you should drop it in the ocean this minute."

Hiccup's nervousness vanished too. "The deal was to give it to Mala." The others stopped what they were doing to listen.

"And what is she going to do with it? Throw it into the sea?"

"Possibly,"

"Then save her the trouble and do it now!"

"Why didn't you? Why choose a lake in Greenland when you had plenty of water to cross before you got here?"

"I wanted the Bewilderbeast to have a look at it first!"

"And I want Mala to have a look at it first, so she knows we succeeded!"

"And what happens next?" Valka demanded. "What if Dragon Hunters set a trap? What if Mala or someone close to her is secretly in league with them? What if this pursuer of yours attacks again? What if Mala decides to use the Dragon Eye for her own advancement?"

Heather could not stay quiet. "Queen Mala would never do that!"

Valka eyed her skeptically. "Newfound power often changes people, you know,"

Hiccup raised an eyebrow. "How do you know I won't use it for my own advancement?" he asked rhetorically, "But seriously, if I get a hint of treachery or danger, I'll do what I can to keep the Eye safe. We all will." His eyes glinted as he spoke. "And if you're so worried about it, come with us! A Stormcutter and another fighter won't impede our safety!"

"I'm sure a Stormcutter would find Berk's climate appealing," Astrid added.

Valka knew what she was hinting at and looked almost ready to agree. Then she wavered. Back and forth her resolution went. She had gone through this countless times during the past two decades, and it had never gotten any easier to pick an answer. Abruptly she turned around and walked away.

The Riders exchanged confused glances.

"What's she doing?" Tuffnut asked.

"I guess she's not coming with us," Ruffnut told him, "Though I don't understand why. I mean, what's so special about this place that a single dragon and his rider can't leave it and see their family for the first time in over 20 years?"

"You wouldn't," Hiccup said heavily, "You've never had to be afraid of how people would react if you returned home."

"And you're just going to let her walk off like that?" Astrid exclaimed.

" **Personally I think she's just afraid and is making excuses to convince herself not to come,** " Hookfang remarked.

" **Maybe, but those fears aren't exactly groundless** ," Stormfly said.

" **Yes. For instance, what do you think the Hatchling's sire would do to Cloudjumper if they met**?" Meatlug asked.

" **There's only one way to find out** ," Fishlegs pointed out.

Hiccup's hand slid up to his shoulder, but he sharply pulled it away. " **I promise you, Meatlug, I would not let Stoick put a spear or anything else into Cloudjumper.** But guys, I imagine every reason we can give to come with us has already occurred to her. She needs some space and time to think. We've presented all the evidence, and now the jury has to decide. We'll be seeing her again before we leave, don't worry."

" **Do you actually want her to come with us**?" Astrid asked him, " **Have you decided you'll let her be your mother**?"

" **I don't know, Astrid. And I don't see any use in saying 'yes' to that if she decides to stay here**." He looked at the sky and spoke to himself, though loudly enough for everyone to hear. "Why must life be so full of confusion and misery? Every decision brings on new controversies, every action questionable, and every sentence interpreted differently. I almost wish we were all actors and could get some moments of rehearsal, so that when a mistake is made we can just say 'start the scene over.' But nope, we only get one chance," He sighed miserably. "What did the Gods hope to gain by molding the world this way?"

Valka went straight to the Bewilderbeast, who was in already deep conversation with Cloudjumper. Several Typhoomerangs were nearby but only listening.

" **There you are**!" the Stormcutter said with relief, " **I was starting to wonder if they had abducted you**."

" **Well, Valka? Is the Dragon Eye going with them or staying here**?" The Bewilderbeast interrupted.

" **They won't part with it until they give it back to the Defenders**." She said bitterly, " **If we take it back now Hiccup will probably want nothing to do with us anymore**."

" **So**?" Cloudjumper said.

" **He's my son, Cloudjumper! Do you think I want him to sever all ties with me now that we've finally met**?"

" **So you want to head back to Berk**?" The Bewilderbeast asked gently.

" **Yes—no—I don't know**!" she cried, " **They keep urging me to, but what will Stoick say? What will I say to him? How do I explain all of this? The last time I saw him he was drunk and cursing dragons—Hiccup say's things are better now on Berk, but are they really**?" she flung herself onto a pile of snow and slammed her fists into it.

" **There is only one way to settle these questions forever** ," The Bewilderbeast said, unaware of what Fishlegs had said. " **Though we** _ **could**_ **always send a scout there to assess the matter first** ,"

" **I say we take back the Dragon Eye and stay here** ," Cloudjumper said, " **Let those Vikings deal with their own problems**."

" **You used to be much more eager to help others** ," The Bewilderbeast remarked. " **I seem to recall you once wanted to take on the Red Death yourself**."

" **That was all before that monster Bludvist nearly killed me. I felt invincible in those days. But the way I see it, we could help those Vikings a million times and they would not care nor learn any lessons. Furthermore, we were informed the Eye has information on Bewilderbeasts—we cannot allow anyone else to gain that information and use it to take you down, Alpha, especially now that our location has become known. To let the Eye go off to strangers and run the risk of being taken is pure folly. It is perfectly safe here, so here let it stay**."

" **That is true to an extent** ," the Bewilderbeast agreed, " **All the same…Valka, it is your decision, of course, but is there really a need to go back to Berk, if that is what's worrying you**?"

" **What do you mean**?"

" **Your son and his friends intend to bring the Eye to those Defenders, and then help them dispose of it, am I correct?** "

" **That's what they said, anyway,** "

" **But does that mean they are going to Berk itself? Undoubtedly in the end they will, but from what we have heard, these Defenders may insist upon receiving the Eye on ground of their choosing, someplace known only to them**."

" **It's possible** ," Valka said dully.

" **Well then, I will allow the Riders to leave with the Eye. No, do not argue, Cloudjumper. I have decided to give them this chance. But I feel I am justified in sending someone after them, to ensure everything goes well. Since you have a personal interest in this and know the region, Cloudjumper, Valka, would you do this for me**?"

" _ **What**_ **do you want us to do**?" Cloudjumper asked sharply.

" **Follow those Dragon Riders and make sure the Dragon Eye ends up disposed of safely. Whether you decide to reveal yourselves to the Riders or to Berk I leave to your discretion**."

" **So you want us to follow them**?"

" **Yes. And if Valka decides she wants to see Berk again, you will take her there, Cloudjumper**."

Cloudjumper knew he would have to obey his Beta and that further arguments were useless. As for Valka, she saw that this suggestion was only dodging and delaying the question, not settling it. Still, she suddenly felt much better now that she had been given a postponement.

" **But are we going to tell your son about this**?" Cloudjumper asked.

A new dilemma, but this time she had an easy answer. " **No. If nobody is aware we're following them, we remain a secret ally and an unknown factor. If we travel with them, their enemies will know it. And if I…if I can't bring myself to come back to Berk, then Hiccup won't have to see me turn around and leave him at the last minute**."

The next time she saw Hiccup night was starting to fall, and she was completely unprepared for what she saw. Toothless had a giant stick of ice stuck to his tongue and Hiccup was holding a canteen of water next to an ignited Hookfang. Her son and Hookfang looked very amused, while Toothless looked ready to gag. " **Steady, Hookfang, we don't want to set the canteen on fire**."

" **Wouldn't that make the water warm**?"

" **Yes, but I wouldn't be able to carry it then, would I? All right Toothless, hold still.** "

" **Thith ith no thun** ,"

" **Well I** _ **told**_ **you not to pick it up! Oh hi, Valka. Be just a minute. I was drawing in the snow to pass the time and this lizard here decides he wants to join in, and wouldn't you know, his artist's brush froze to his tongue**." He carefully poured the warm water onto the Night Furies tongue. It took a few minutes but the ice finally detached. Hiccup at once began applying bandages. " **Thanks Hookfang. I can take it from here. Go tell the others we'll be leaving soon**." He looked up at his mom and grinned. " **I guess this proves dragons do need humans for some things, doesn't it**?"

Valka smiled. " **I suppose so.** Although I think humans need dragons more, don't you?"

Hiccup nodded. "So, what is the jury's verdict?"

"Sorry?"

"We're leaving very soon. What are you going to do?"

"Hiccup, are you sure bringing the Eye back is wise? Wouldn't it be safer to keep it here and not get further involved in this?"

"Maybe getting involved creates new problems, but I'd rather try and resolve them than do nothing." Hiccup said patiently, "If I had my way, I'd keep the Eye for myself and use its information to benefit people and dragons. I'd use it to help pave the way to creating a lasting peace. But since I can't do that much, I'll use it to forge an alliance between two tribes and further solidify peace in Viking territory. Doesn't that make it worth the risk?"

"Yes…but will it be worth the cost in the end?"

"When we get to the end I'll tell you. But I think it will be. I hope it will be." He looked at his mother thoughtfully, "You don't look prepared to go anywhere. So I'm guessing that means you're not coming with us?"

"I—no, son, I'm not. I—I can't." She had to turn away. If she had looked into his eyes she never could have lied to him like this. She tried to justify herself but could not think of what to say. Her mind was blank.

"Well, that's your decision. I don't have to like it, but that's the way it is. My decision is to head home." Hiccup said heavily. "But if you ever…you know, change your mind…"

Valka suddenly grabbed his arm tightly. "We will meet again, Hiccup. I swear it."

Hiccup laughed ironically. "You know, you wanted to surprise me for my 16th birthday, right? Well, you could do it now! Or maybe surprise me at my wedding! I'll send you an invitation!"

"Yes, you could do that," Valka smiled sadly.

"Of course, I'd have to send one at once since we want it as soon as possible and it would take a while for a Terror to get here, but…oh what am I rambling about? You already know it's going to happen." He shifted his weight and looked at the ground. "I suppose there's nothing else to be said?"

Valka could only shake her head.

"Do you want me to tell Dad about you? It's going to be hard keeping this a secret, of course, but I could probably pull it off. If you…"

"Do what you think is best,"

"Of course," he muttered under his breath. "Well…"

Valka took a deep breath. "Goodbye, Hiccup,"

"Goodbye, Mom," he turned away slowly, " **Aren't you coming, Toothless**?"

Valka had almost forgotten about the Night Fury. He had kept quiet this whole time because of his tongue. " **Juth a minute.** "

As soon as he was out of sight, Hiccup kicked a pile of snow as hard as he could.

The Night Fury waited until his Rider was out of earshot before turning on Valka. " **Honethly, I think you made a bad mithake**."

Valka was surprised by the blunt tone that even the lisp could not disguise. " **Oh**?"

" **Yeth. He wanted you to come back with uth. I really get tired of you and your mate upthetting him over and over again, you know. Do you have any idea how much of a wreck he wath when we met? And now you've dithappointed him again. Doth your family mean anything to you?** " He glared at her.

Her temper flared. " **Maybe you don't understand my reasons for staying**."

" **Maybe not. But if I were you I'd go back to them before it wath too late, and be grateful I had a family to return to**." With that he walked away.

Valka was so surprised that she did not sense Cloudjumper come up behind her. His first words made her jump.

" **A very uncouth creature, would you not say**?"

" **I don't think so. I think he's right**." She wiped away some tears. " **I hated having to lie to Hiccup like that. What was I even thinking?"**

" **We should focus on our mission now,"** Cloudjumper said evasively.

" **I suppose so. And who knows? Perhaps I'll get a chance to make amends before this is over. Even the wisest can't tell what will happen, and I'm not one of the wisest, not even close**."

" **I always thought you were wiser than most, actually** ," the Stormcutter said. " **You saw dragons for what they are long before anyone else did**."

" **And look where that's gotten us** ," she said bitterly. " **We'll give them a half night head start. Do you really think you can stay hidden for that long? You're a rather large dragon, you know** ,"

The Stormcutter chuckled. " **I believe I can. You do not call me 'Cloudjumper' for no reason, after all,"**

Valka nodded but saw no reason to laugh.

Her husband, completely unaware that he had never been a widower or that this fact was now known, was pacing back and forth in the forge as Gobber the smith worked.

"Will ya fer the love o' Odin stop yer walkin'? Yer distractin' me from me hammerin'! Pacin' ain't gonna bring 'im back sooner!"

"It's been weeks, Gobber! The last we heard he was in Ireland! He could be halfway around the world or dead for all we know!" Stoick cried, throwing his hands in the air. "I never should have let him or anyone else leave on this! I should have thrown that woman's words in her face and braved her to do her worst!"

"An' risked a war?"

"We're strong enough! We're stronger than ever before, now that we have dragons on our side!" Stoick grumbled.

Gobber put the sword he had been hammering into a bucket of water. The metal hissed and steam rose rapidly into the air. "There. Jest the polishin' and sharpenin' left ta be done. Oh, that reminds me, Stoick, I've selected a boy ta be me new apprentice."

"Oh?" He was hardly interested.

"Aye. Name's Spittle Alfsson."

"The cobbler's boy? Is he any good?"

"Well, 'e's willin' ta learn,"

Stoick thought a minute, "If he meets your approval…all right, but Gobber, don't go twisting his head about trolls and Bonenappers and all that other stuff. Do you have any idea how long it took to get me ta get Hiccup to stop believing in those things?"

"Whaddya _mean_ don't go twistin' 'is 'ead? Trolls an' Bonenappers exist and ya know it!" Gobber exclaimed indignantly.

"Gobber, don't be so superstitious!"

"It's good luck ta be sue-per-stice-e-ous!"

"No, it's bad luck!"

"Now who's bein' sue-per-stice-e-ous?" Gobber laughed. His amusement made Stoick crack a smile too.

"Now look, Stoick, yer son's a liver—"

"A _what_?"

"A liver. Ya know, 'e keeps on livin',"

"Thank Odin for that, because if you had meant what I thought you did—"

"Ya'd give me an 'eadache?"

"Yes and you'd need more rock teeth! Nobody compares my son to a piece of meat in my presence and gets away with it!"

"Why not? 'E's called _me_ a meat-'ead, ya know!"

Stoick burst into a hearty laugh, "Did he really?"

"Aye. Wot ah mean ta say is yer son's a liver and 'e keeps on livin'. 'E should've died an 'undred times yet 'e's still alive an' kickin'—an' now that 'e's got a metal leg, 'e can kick pretty 'ard. Me point is, 'Iccup's probably perfectly fine."

Stoick still looked doubtful. "I wouldn't mind it so much if I just knew he was all right! A note every week or so would be enough! Of course, he only brought two Terrors with him and they've both been sent back. And since we don't know where he is we can't send a reply. They should've taken a whole flock with them!" Stoick's brow furled. "If I just knew where he was and what his plans were…and Mala's just as anxious, I know. She's been thinking of sending out some of her Defenders to look for them." A light came to his eyes. "Well, why not?"

"Yer gonna send out them Defenders?"

"Of course not! But we've still got the 'A' Team, and I've got Skullcrusher, haven't I? The island can manage for a week without us!"

Gobber understood what he was saying. "Didn't used ta be that way," he remarked.

"I know. When those raids were at their worst, I always dreaded what I might see when I returned from voyages. I always feared dragons, Outcasts, or the Twins had destroyed Berk in my absence."

"'Specially the third?" Gobber grinned.

"Especially!" Stoick grinned back. He felt a lot better now. "I'll send out the 'A' Team Riders and we'll see if we can't find my lost heir."

Through the cold air that gradually grew warmer, from Greenland to Iceland to the Hebrides, and then to the coast of Norway the Dragon Riders went, following the route Hiccup had picked for them. Unlike their first journey, the way back was incredibly peaceful and quick. They were all eager to head home now, the weather was good for flying, and nobody tried to attack them. All around, it was much easier on the nerves and a much more pleasant, if largely uneventful journey. Nevertheless, a few events occurred which need to be told.

The first occurred when they had camped for the night on a sea stack in the Hebrides, several days after leaving Greenland. The sea stacks and the weather made them feel right at home. It was almost scary how similar the islands were to Berk. During the night Astrid felt a tap on her shoulder. She opened her eyes and saw Hiccup. She would later decide it was a sight she could get used to waking up to, but at the time she simply said "What is it?"

He led her away from the camp and to the edge of the stack, where Toothless was sitting. "I saw Cloudjumper."

"Where?"

"He's on another sea stack to the north. Here, use this, it's impossible to see him from here without aid." He handed her his spotting scope and she put it to her eye.

"You're sure it's him?"

"I don't know of any other four winged dragons with a bag on their back. I didn't see Valka, but she's probably behind him."

Astrid looked around a minute and nodded. "Sure looks like him. So what are they doing here?"

" **Probably following us** ," Toothless growled. " **The real question is what do we do about it**?"

"Nothing,"

"Hiccup, are you sure?" Astrid asked earnestly.

"If she wants to talk, she knows where to find us." He replied shortly.

They told the others about this in the morning and left it at that.

The second event took place after they had encamped on one of the many islands around Norway. They were roughly two days flight from Berk, possibly less if they hurried. Nobody had attacked them during that whole time. Valka and Cloudjumper were still behind them somewhere, but had always kept at a discreet distance and made no contact with them.

That night, Astrid had gone off patrolling, as usual, and for the first time on the entire return journey she and Stormfly did not return empty handed.

"Hey guys, look what I've found!" She was dragging none other than Gustav Larson, who seemed positively enchanted with what she was doing to him. Stormfly and Fanghook, Gustav's Nightmare, followed close behind.

"Gustav, what are _you_ doing here?" Snotlout exclaimed.

" **My thoughts precisely**!" Meatlug said.

"She's touching me," Gustav said dreamily.

Astrid snorted. "Men. I found him camping nearby. I thought he was an enemy, so I tackled him." That explained his dirty appearance.

"I knew she couldn't resist my charms. Oh hey, guys! How've you been?" It seemed he had only just realized there were others present.

"Just fine, Gustav, now mind telling us what you're doing here?" Hiccup said.

"Before we tickle it out of you!" Ruffnut added with an evil grin.

"I'd rather hang him." Tuffnut said.

"You can't get information out of someone if you hang them, Doofus!"

"That's what you think, muttonhead!"

"Bride of a Troll!"

"I can't be a bride! I'm a guy!"

"I see the journey didn't change them in the slightest," Gustav said over the noise, "The Chief hoped they might come back, as he put it, 'reformed and enlightened,'"

" **And pigs will walk on water** ,"

"Very funny, Stormfly. Now, Gustav, for the third time, what are you doing here?" Hiccup said.

"We hadn't heard from you guys in I don't know how long! The Chief was getting worried, so he and some of the 'A' Team went out looking for you. I've been out here for five or six days now."

"Alone?" Heather asked.

Gustav nodded happily. "I owe it all to your Survival Training, O divine and lovely Astrid,"

"Save it, Gust, she's taken now," Snotlout said bitterly. "She and Fishbone over there decided to seal the deal,"

It took Gustav a minute to understand what he meant, and when he did he was horrified. "You mean—but that's—but I thought—oh, Astrid, how could you _do_ this to me?"

" **By saying 'Yes'** " Astrid whispered to Stormfly.

Gustav looked at Snotlout nervously, "I don't suppose there's any chance you could…you know…bump him off before we reach Berk?"

"GUSTAV!" Fishlegs exclaimed. Toothless barred his teeth.

"Just an idea, just an idea!"

"Getting back to our first topic," Hiccup said loudly, "Is there any news from Berk?"

"Oh yes! That Queen Lady told us to tell you to 'bring the Eye to the site of Heather's third training session.' And before you ask, I have no idea what that means,"

"I do," Heather said quietly. "So she wants us to meet her there? All right, I can see that,"

"So can I come with you guys when you go there?" Gustav asked eagerly. Everyone at once shook their heads and mouthed the word 'no' to Hiccup.

"Sorry Gustav, but I've got something else for you to do, and it's important,"

"Ooo! Tell tell tell!"

"I need you to take a message back to Berk. Tell Mala we'll be there in—Heather would five days be manageable? All right, tell Mala we'll be there in five days."

"And tell the Chief and our parents we're all fine," Astrid added.

"I'll leave at once!" Gustav cried, so eager was he to be of service to her. He leapt onto Fanghook and flew away.

Hiccup slapped his leg. "Dang it, I had more questions to ask him!"

"Oh, ask them later," Snotlout said impatiently, "where are we supposed to meet that lady?"

"Don't talk about Queen Mala like that!" Heather snapped.

" **He can talk about her any way he likes**!" Hookfang growled. Windshear at once got on her haunches and hissed at him. Stormfly took a defensive stance.

"Oh drop it, all of you!" Hiccup and Toothless ordered simultaneously.

Astrid quickly spoke up, "Heather, where are we going?"

Heather looked over the map Hiccup had produced and tapped an island. "Right here. It's where I went for my third training session with the Defenders. It's an old volcano."

Hiccup held up a hand. "All right, guys, training exercise: suppose you're a Dragon Hunter, you want the Dragon Eye really badly, and you know where it will be soon. How would you get it?"

"Set up an ambush, obviously," Snotlout said smugly.

"Yes, and where?"

"At the drop off point of course!"

"That's one possibility," Fishlegs agreed.

"But it's too obvious." Astrid argued. "Mala will probably have every Defender with her, and we'll all be there with our dragons, and we'll all be expecting an attack. No, if it was me, I'd try to steal the Eye before it reached the drop off point."

"My thoughts exactly, Astrid. So here's what we're going to do," He scanned the map a moment, "we're going to split up and fly along different routes. We'll bypass the Drop Off point—that's an appropriate term—and we'll meet up here to the south of it. Then, when the time arrives, we'll fly to the correct island."

"Split up and land in the wrong spot?" Tuffnut said, "Strike confusion into 'em? The Chicken is pleased!"

Hiccup had the dragons gather around the map so they could see where they were going. As they looked he resumed his plan. "The pairs will be Toothless with Barf n' Belch, Stormfly and Windshear, and Hookfang with Meatlug,"

"What?" Snotlout exclaimed, "I have to travel with Fishlegs? Why can't I travel with Astrid? No offense, Fish," he added hastily.

"I'm not exactly thrilled about it either," Fishlegs said coolly.

" **Why do I have to travel with the Razorwhip**?" Stormfly demanded. A glare from Toothless was warning enough for Windshear and she merely growled.

Hiccup held up a hand again. "I'll tell you why. As Heather's the only Defender among us and is carrying the Dragon Eye, she's in the most danger. So I'm pairing her with the best fighter we have. And whoever goes with the Twins has to be able to handle them. So, by process of elimination, Snotlout and Fishlegs have to travel together."

He now turned back to the dragons and told them the routes he wanted them to take. Tomorrow morning, two groups would fly westwards, at different degrees, the third would fly east. What routes they took after that were up to them, and he had no objections to them flying in random directions at random moments, so long as they arrived on time and did not get captured.

Astrid and Heather left first, early the following morning.

" **Keep an eye out for enemies** ," Stormfly ordered Windshear, " **and I'll keep one eye on you** ," she added under her breath.

" **Are you still convinced I'm going to murder you or something**?" Windshear asked sharply. Stormfly had evidently spoken louder than she thought she had. But she had no desire to talk about it, especially to Windshear.

But Windshear would not let the matter drop. " **Ever since I've met you, all you've done is scowl at me and imply that I'm a killer. Why? What did I ever do to you**?"

" **I don't want to talk about it**."

" **Well I do. And seeing how I'm the victim here, I think I have a right to know why you hate me so much**."

" **Victim**!" Stormfly squawked so loudly it made the humans jump, " **What do you know about being a victim? I was a prisoner first of the Red Death and then of humans, and just when I found happiness at last I lost my mate and later my hatchlings and friends and home! I lost my infants thanks to a Razorwhip! I killed other dragons and destroyed my own nest because of that monster**!"

" **Well I'm not that monster**!" Windshear shouted. " **Don't blame me for what happened! I had nothing to do with it**!"

" **Girls, that's enough**!" Astrid interrupted before it became a fight. In their anger they had both forgotten she could understand what they were saying. " **Stormfly, you're going to fly east, Windshear, keep going straight**."

"What's going on?" Heather asked nervously when she saw Astrid veering to the east. "What is it?"

"Nothing, I just need to have a little talk with my dragon. I'll be back in a few minutes." Astrid assured her.

" **I can't believe you're taking her side**!" Stormfly exclaimed.

" **Stormfly, did you ever hear about what happened with Chief Stoick**?"

Stormfly was so surprised by the question she had to take some time to consider her answer. In the end all she could say was to ask Astrid what she meant.

" **Chief Stoick hated dragons for years because he thought they'd killed his wife and son, remember**?"

" **Oh that. Yes, I know—I mean, Hiccup and others have told me about it many times, but what does this** —?"

" **Do you remember what that hatred did to him and his family? I'm asking because at the moment, Stormfly, you're heading in the same direction. Oh come on, Stormfly, I know why you don't like Razorwhips, but humans killed your mate and you don't blame all of us for that**!"

" **No, but I blamed every Outcast for it and I paid them back. And what about you? You're Uncle was killed by a Flightmare and you still don't like them! I saw you that night—you were all set to attack one**!"

Astrid swallowed. " **That is true. But if a Flightmare actually came up to me, I—I would do my best act civil to it. And just what are you saying here, that you're upset about Razorwhips because you didn't get to take any revenge for your Hatchlings**? **I was like that once, Stormfly. When someone did better than me, or somehow slighted me, I couldn't rest until I'd gotten even with them. It sounds appealing at first, but in the end it just makes you angry and lonely. I know you can't answer this, but I sometimes wonder if I had any actual friends before I went to the Sanctuary**."

" **This is not about winning first prize—this is about my** _ **hatchlings**_!" Stormfly shouted.

" **They're** _ **dead**_ **, Stormfly! It's horrible, yes, but blaming Windshear for it isn't going to bring them back and you know it! Now enough of this! I saw what this did to the Haddocks and I am** _ **not**_ **going to let that happen to you! So you're going to apologize to Windshear and stop treating her like the enemy.** "

Stormfly kept bitterly silent as Astrid steered her back to rejoin Heather.

"Are we good now?" Heather asked.

Astrid looked at her dragon. "Well, Stormfly?"

Stormfly looked over at the Razorwhip. " **All right, Windshear. I am sorry for my insinuations. But it was a Razorwhip that made me do horrible things to my nest and was responsible for the death of my family. I will tolerate your presence and stay civil, but I do not forgive your species and or forget what they did to me**."

Windshear's head drooped. It was hardly the words anyone had been hoping for, but Astrid felt it was the best they could expect for the time being, and intended to hold Stormfly to her promise of tolerance.

But Stormfly was not finished. " **And if you ever think of harming my Rider, you'll wish you were dead by the time I'm done with you**."

It seems a shame to say it, but all the forethought and precautions the Riders had taken were for nothing. They did not see a Dragon Hunter, any ships, or even any dragons. The only thing that happened to make the flight out of the ordinary was that the Twins had gotten into a fight and nearly fell to their deaths, but Toothless grabbed them in time. Hiccup then had Chicken ride with him, and the Twins were sullen and silent for the rest of the flight.

Astrid told only Hiccup and Toothless about Stormfly and Windshear.

"I hated having to discipline her like that, but not doing so would've been dishonorable."

Hiccup nodded. "This has to stop before it gets worse,"

" **I could give her an order**?" Toothless suggested. Hiccup shook his head.

" **That wouldn't help Bud. It might even make things worse."** He looked glum, **"But does it really matter now? After all, once this exchange is done, Heather's probably going back with the Defenders, and Windshear's probably going with them. If I'm right, Stormfly won't have to tolerate Windshear for much longer** …"

From their new campsite they could see the Drop off Point, and if ever an island looked like what a volcano was commonly thought to look like, it was this island. It was a round cone that rose out of the sea for several thousand feet. Black clouds were rising from the top.

"I don't like the looks of that. Why'd they have to choose a volcano?" Fishlegs asked, "Especially an active one? What about the lava or the tremors? Good grief, Heather, we could all be killed there!"

"Awesome!" the Twins exclaimed.

"The Chicken is pleased!"

"That's why Queen Mala thinks it's an unlikely spot for an ambush." Heather replied, "And as for the lava, don't worry. This island's home to an Eruptodon."

"An Eruptodon?" Fishlegs exclaimed, his uneasiness instantly vanishing, "The Boulder class dragon that eats lava? Oh thank you, Queen Lady, I've always wanted to see one!"

Heather smiled. "That's right. This volcano has been active for some time, but the lower parts are safe as long as the Eruptodon is around."

"As safe as any volcano can be, you mean," Astrid corrected. "Say, Hiccup, did you ever see an erupting volcano during your travels?"

"Hmm? Oh, no," he was still in low spirits.

"What? You disappoint me!"

"Yeah. The way you talk about it, I thought you'd seen everything," Snotlout grumbled.

" **You told Gustav to tell Mala to meet us here in five days. That means we meet her the day after tomorrow** ," Toothless announced.

"And then what?" Fishlegs asked, "What happens to Heather and Windshear?"

Everyone fell into an uncomfortable silence. It was finally broken by Snotlout snorting. "Oh, don't worry about it! I'll bet if Heather just gave Mala that pleading look of hers Mala would give her anything she wanted! Oh and by the way Heather, gorgeous as that expression is, I am completely immune to pairs of big brown eyes that come to me pleading for anything! Just ask Astrid!"

"My eyes are blue," Astrid said dully.

"And mine are green," Heather added, widening them a little for all to see.

"Hate to say it, Snotlout, but nobody here actually has brown eyes," Hiccup remarked. Everybody looked around in surprise and saw, sure enough, their eyes were all blue, green, or, in the case of certain dragons, yellow. And for some reason, this made everyone chuckle.

 **Teaser for Chapter 16, to be posted on May 27**

"Why Mi Amor, you came for me!"

"That's right, Adoncia, and I love you so much I'm going to send you to what you Christians call Heaven—assuming your God lets you in there!" Hiccup growled.


	16. Chapter 16

**I Own Nothing**

 **All Rights Reserved**

 **Please Read and Review!**

 **Chapter 16**

 **The Trade**

The day of the trade arrived. As they flew closer to the volcano, the foul stench of rotten eggs filled the air. The clouds over the mountain were black and getting larger, and they frequently heard what sounded like thunder.

" **That thing's getting ready to blow** ," Hookfang said nervously, " **is this really a smart idea**?"

" **Heather said it was safe since the Eruptodon lives there** ," Windshear said,

" **They eat lava** ," Stormfly retorted, " **that doesn't mean they can stop eruptions—or prevent rocks from rolling down and crushing us** ,"

" **We'll make this quick** ," Hiccup assured them. He had already spotted Mala standing partway on the shore. There was not really a beach on this island, at least in the conventional sense. Rather, there was a point where the mountain met the ocean. She was standing roughly 100 meters from this. On the north side of the island were numerous ships, most likely belonging to the Defenders. The mountain itself was fairly tall, black, and craggy. Steam was rising from cracks all over the place, and the air was hazy. Some of the company began complaining of breathing difficulties. Hiccup promised himself they would indeed make this quick, because Stormfly was right: an Eruptodon could not stop eruptions entirely.

Visibility took a brief turn for the worst, and they landed a little ways away from Mala instead of right in front of her. To give the dragons some rest they walked the rest of the way. Thankfully the air was not so bad at ground level.

There was one Defender besides Mala, whose face was concealed. Mala greeted them with a curt nod. "So, you have made it."

"Nice to see you too, lady," Snotlout said.

"I see the journey has not improved your manners." She turned to the one next to her, "Well, Serene, is he the culprit?"

The hooded Defender shook their head without making a sound.

"This was Serene, the one who first accused you of stealing the Eye," Mala said shortly, "Now that she sees you in person, she knows she was mistaken."

"Thank you for your consideration." Hiccup said dryly, looking anxiously at the clouds and the rumbling mountain. "Astrid?"

Astrid came forward with the box. Mala, showing no anxiety about the volcano she was standing on, took it and opened it. They watched her examine everything and close lid. "Then our business is concluded successfully. Heather, set the Razorwhip free and come with me."

"That's it?" Snotlout exclaimed. Astrid gave him a stern look.

"We will talk later, after I get the Dragon Eye to a safe place," Mala said firmly. "Heather, come,"

"Can't we at least say goodbye?" Fishlegs asked.

Mala glanced at them and at the volcano, and finally nodded. "But make it quick,"

"You guys go ahead," Hiccup told them, "I want a few words with you, Mala—in private,"

So Mala and Hiccup moved over to one of the craggy cliff walls. The silent Defender moved up the mountain a little ways.

Everyone looked at Heather uncertainly. Heather looked at them uncertainly.

"So, I guess this is goodbye, then?" Astrid asked at last.

"I suppose so," Heather mumbled. Suddenly the prospect of becoming a Full Defender did not seem so important to her.

"But we'll keep in touch, right?" Fishlegs asked anxiously.

"Yeah, and you can come and visit!" Snotlout agreed.

"I…I don't know how often Mala will allow it," she looked at her dragon, "And I don't think she wants you to come, Windshear,"

" **I don't care what she says! I'm coming with you**!" Windshear snapped. Fishlegs translated for them.

Heather felt like she was being torn apart.

"Well?" Mala said to Hiccup.

"What happens to the Eye now?" he asked coldly.

"That's not your concern any longer."

"It darn well is my concern, Mala. You made it my concern when you accused me of taking it and again when you asked me to find it for you! Now I've heard enough people tell me how dangerous it is in the wrong hands, so what the heck are you going to do with it?"

Mala was not fazed by this whiff of temper. "It shall go to the depths."

"Was it so hard to say that much in the first place?" Hiccup retorted, "What about the final lens?"

"That shall stay where it is. Now answer one of my questions before we part. Who stole the Eye?"

Hiccup smiled. Oh she was going to love this. "My mother,"

Even Mala, icy and expressionless as she tried to make herself, could not conceal her surprise entirely. "What?"

"My mother stole it. She's a long time believer in the greatness of dragons and one of Drago Bludvist's old enemies." He did not bother to hide the pride in his voice. "She's also been assumed dead for over 20 years,"

"I see," was all Mala could get out.

Toothless, who had been silently watching the volcano this entire time, now made a sound that prompted Hiccup to look up at the peak too. "I thought Eruptodons ate lava,"

"They do," Mala said.

"Then this one must've gotten full, because that's a lot of lava coming down," Hiccup moved over to Toothless, "We best get out of here. I'm guessing you don't want a lift to your ships?"

"Ship, you mean."

"No, ships."

"I only came here with one ship." Mala said sharply.

"Then why are there about 20 moored to the north?"

Mala frowned. "I told them to patrol the area!"

With an uncomfortable feeling in his stomach, Hiccup nudged Toothless and they went into the air as high as they dared risk. Hiccup pulled out his spyglass. It was very hard to see with the air quality, but he certainly saw a multitude of ships. Then, after staring very hard, he noticed something. People were pulling a large cage to one of the ships, and in that cage was a large and squat dragon, similar to a Gronkle but with a spiked tail. He quickly turned the glass to the mountain and saw move lava spilling down the side.

" **Toothless, get us down, quickly**." He ordered. With the noise of the eruption growing louder and the winds picking up he had to repeat his words twice before Toothless heard him.

When they landed they got a jolt. Mala was lying on the ground, a bloodied knife in her hand and another one in her back.

"Mala! **Toothless, quick, help me**!" Hiccup shouted as he rushed to her side, " **Summon the others here**! Take it, easy, Mala, breathe, you're going to be fine, just stay with me,"

She grunted. "Eye's gone. Went…north,"

"Don't talk, save your strength,"

"Follower…said 'gracias, mi er—"

Hiccup froze. "What did they say?"

"Gracias, mi…ah," Mala gagged.

Toothless at once began to lick her where the wound was. " **The dragons are coming; the Riders will be right behind them**!" he said in between licks.

" **Good. Get her out of here as quick as you can**." Hiccup said through clenched teeth as he tightened the laces on his boot.

" **And just where do you think you're going**?"

" **I'm getting the Eye back** ,"

" **Hiccup, you can't! The volcano's erupting**!" The ground suddenly shook.

" **Of course it's erupting! Don't you get it? Dragon Hunters are here and they captured the Eruptodon and the Dragon Eye!** "

" **Then let's** —" But it was no good arguing. Hiccup had already run off. Toothless dared not leave Mala until the others arrived.

The ground shook again, this time much more violently. His eyes shot upwards to the volcano. More lava was emerging from its mouth.

" **Hurry up**!"

"I should have known," Hiccup muttered as he followed a trail of blood that led along the volcano's base. He spotted a person clad in black less than a hundred meters ahead of him and broke into a sprint. He pulled out Inferno and ignited it. It was a fitting blade for a such a place.

The person of interest suddenly stopped. It was the Defender who had been with Mala earlier, the one named Serene. He snorted at the thought. They turned to face him and pulled down their hood, revealing a woman's face that had once been lovely, and still was in places, but now had several scars and a patch over one eye. She grinned at the sight of Hiccup.

"Why Mi Amor, you came for me!"

"That's right, Adoncia, and I love you so much I'm going to send you to what you Christians call Heaven—assuming your God lets you in there!" Hiccup growled.

"Such passion in your voice! Oh, it makes my heart skip!" She teased. "It's a nice change from being around Icy Mala all day."

"Tell me, did losing that eye hurt?"

"You have no idea." She said lightly.

"I think I do, thanks to you,"

"You're very welcome, by the way. And here we are, together again! I knew you could never resist me—whoops!" for the ground had trembled violently, nearly throwing them both off balance. She laughed, "Quite a place isn't it?" She swung the iron chest like a giant club and forced Hiccup to back up. "I've always wondered what making love next to lava would be like! Rather _hot_ , I imagine!"

Hiccup was not in the mood as he looked for an opening to strike at her. "Let me guess, you're a spy for the Dragon hunters."

"Of course!" she grinned. "Did you like my alias?"

"And you stole the Dragon Eye the first time."

"Sí. They stole it back, and then a dragon stole it."

"And you told the Defenders I was responsible. Did you put the blame on me just to get me involved in this?"

"Of course! You are so smart, Mi Amor!" She laughed, as if she had done something to be proud of, "We've both been very busy, haven't we? You found the Eye for us and now I've stolen it again! No matter what happens it comes back to me, just like you always do!"

The ground shook again. Lava was coming down the slope of the volcano in greater volumes and getting closer.

"Adios!" Adoncia laughed. But instead of running towards the beach she went further up the erupting mountain.

Hiccup was suddenly grabbed from behind. He kicked and elbowed and his would-be kidnapper was knocked over. Hiccup spun around swinging Inferno, only to freeze.

"You!"

"Me," Eret, Son of Eret replied, pulling out a sword. "I'm touched you remember me, Dragon King, but this must end now,"

Hiccup tapped his gauntlet and flames burst from it. Eret dove out of the way and slipped on some broken rock. Hiccup turned around and ran after Adoncia.

"Where did he go?" Astrid screamed over the noise of the eruption. The ground had stopped shaking for the moment, but the lava was flowing faster. The wind was whipping around them, nearly blowing them to the ground at times. As they tried to get an incoherent Mala onto Meatlug, they looked around wildly at every opportunity for Hiccup. The dragons were equally frantic, especially Toothless. The air was getting thick with ash and the wind blew it around like a sandstorm.

" **I can barely see**! **Hiccup, where are you**?" Toothless shouted before coughing ash and dust out of his throat.

"Mala's strapped in!" Fishlegs announced, trying hard not to panic. "We'd better get her out of here before things get worse!"

"All right, Fish, you get her out of here, the rest of you go with him and help get Toothless to safety" Astrid ordered. "I'll stay here with Stormfly and look for Hiccup."

"No!" Everybody shouted.

" **We're not going anywhere without the rest of you**!" Meatlug said and the dragons nodded. Boulders suddenly rolled down the slope a little ways down the beach. The place was growing more unstable.

"We won't find Hiccup if we stay on the ground!" Fishlegs cried. "We'll all be flattened!"

"And how are we supposed to find him with the air like this?" Snotlout shouted back, "I'm not complaining, but we can barely see 10 meters! And that thing could blow for real any minute!"

The Riders attempted to get into the air but Snotlout's statement was accurate. The debris filled air choked and blinded the dragons and humans as soon as they rose into it. Only the Twins ignored it and made any progress. They soon disappeared into the smog. And suddenly everyone sensed the Twins and Zippleback were going to their deaths. How could anyone hope to survive in an atmosphere as poisonous as this?

Astrid ordered Stormfly to try to fly again, but Heather grabbed her.

"Are you crazy?"

"I can't leave them!" Astrid shouted.

Toothless decided to go after Hiccup on foot, but the lava found a new path downhill and blocked the route he had intended to take. He was forced to turn around and search for another way, but that would take time, and they were running out of that.

The sky was heavy with clouds of ash. The air seemed to burn and was growing hazy. Lightning was striking the peak of the volcano and thunder rumbled. Red and yellow molten lava was spilling down the northern and eastern slopes. Adoncia was making for the northern side of the mountain, where the ships were moored. But to get there required crossing a craggy ravine which lava was speeding down like a red river. She reached the edge of this ravine and had to turn around. Hiccup was less than 50 meters from her and coming as fast as he could. Eret was some distance behind him and puffing a little.

She grinned. "It's rather warm up here, Mi Amor! Perhaps we're overdressed!"

"Taking your clothes off means less resistance for Inferno!" Hiccup shouted as he approached. He swung and she leapt like a grasshopper away from him.

"Hiccup, you can't kill me!" she laughed, "You love me too much!"

"Care to bet on that?"

"Tell me, Mi Amor, have you _ever_ killed anyone?"

"Yes, and I'm considering adding you to that roster." He slid forward and swung Inferno again. She darted backwards and nearly fell off the edge. "Come any closer and I drop the Dragon Eye into the lava, Mi Amor! I doubt the Defenders ever tried to destroy it using lava!" She was not joking around this time.

"And displease your masters?" Hiccup sneered. "I doubt they'll like that!"

"I have no masters!" Adoncia shouted shrilly. Evidently he had touched a nerve.

Hiccup swung again and she blocked it with the chest. "Oh really? Because I thought you and Drago were like mistress and Master! Or more like slave and master!"

She was really getting riled up now. "Oh you really think so, Mi Amor? I knew who you were the whole time and never told him! How's that fit into your 'master and slave' theory?" she suddenly laughed, and it sounded like a witch's screech, "You have no idea how funny it was, watching Drago scream at every failure you gave him, knowing I knew the truth and he didn't! You left me a very interesting journal!"

"I'm surprised you could actually understand it. I'd have thought all you could comprehend was sex-related," Hiccup said dryly. He had carefully repositioned himself during her last few sentences. If he could only come at her from her blind side—

And then Eret caught up to them and swung a sword at him. Hiccup lunged at Adoncia, to get the Eye and save his own life, but she had had plenty of warning now and skirted aside. In the process she threw something to Eret, which he caught easily and put in a pocket. Her triumphant smirk and the missed opportunity set the King's temper off. He glared at Eret so fiercely sparks almost shot from his eyes.

Eret raised a hand slowly. "Dragon King, you're caught on both sides and there's a volcano erupting. How about you surrender and we'll settle this somewhere else?"

"You'd like that, wouldn't you?" the King snapped, his eyes looking from one foe to the other. "You'd both like to take me away, chain and flog me, impregnate Adoncia, and then cut my head off, wouldn't you? Well it's not happening!"

"I'm giving you a chance to surrender and live!"

The King suddenly whipped around and kicked Eret in the chest. "Did anyone make that nice offer before my friend's hatchlings were murdered?" he roared. He stormed over to Eret and kicked him with his metal foot, sending him further down the mountain slope. "Did anyone offer Olaf Hofferson a chance? Did Drago give Peer a chance before he crushed his throat? Who offered Grimm a chance to surrender before his head was cut off? WELL?" He grabbed Eret ferociously and shoved him back down the mountain. Then he turned back to attack Adoncia, only to find she had used the distraction to slip away. Cursing he pursued her yet again.

"This is so cool!" Ruffnut shouted as their dragon struggled through the air and they struggled to stay on.

"This is so crazy!" Tuffnut shouted back.

"That's why it's so cool!"

"And don't I know it! The Chicken is pleased!"

Actually, Chicken was downright terrified, but Tuffnut assumed it was just an act.

Ryker Grimborn stood on the ship's deck and surveyed his crew. All of them were terrified and pleading with him to cast off.

"Viggo's orders were to stay here until we had the Eye!" Ryker shouted furiously yet again. "Eret and Adoncia are still out there!"

At that moment a large boulder flew into the sea, missing them by meters. Waves rolled and nearly capsized the ship.

"On second thought, I'm sure Viggo will understand. Get us out of here!" Ryker shouted frantically. The crew did not need to be told twice. He knew Viggo would not like this, but they were no good to him dead either. They had already lost two ships to the eruption.

On another ship Draccus Grimborn had already given the order to cast off and he gave it without hesitation. He was very pleased with how things had been going. They now had the valuable Eruptodon locked in the hold and Adoncia and Eret were surely dead or soon to be, which meant there was no hope of Viggo getting the Eye. It was yet another failure for his brother and a success for him. The plan had been to wait until the Eye was retrieved and _then_ take the Eruptodon, but he had deliberately moved prematurely. This way, Viggo hopefully lost a great prize and he, Draccus, would be the only person to bring anything successful out of this mess. With things going as they were, he felt he would now easily convince others to join him and force Viggo to step down. Of course, he recognized they had to survive this eruption first, and he dropped his scheming to help steer the ship.

Adoncia had stumbled on one of the jagged black rocks that were everywhere and was on the ground when Hiccup caught up with her. There was no talking this time. He stabbed with Inferno and she blocked it with the chest again. He kicked her in the leg. With a scream she swung the chest at his legs and grabbed her sword, which had fallen when she had tripped. Hiccup kicked it out of her hand. She shakily tried to get to her feet using the chest as a shield, but Hiccup grabbed it.

"I'll be taking this," he snarled.

"I think not!" she shrieked as she tried to tug it from his grasp.

"Nice try!" he laughed, though he did not feel remotely amused. She tried to grab the chest back from him and they wrestled over it.

"Give it! If you're so eager to hold onto something, you can always hold onto me!" she laughed. Her eyes seemed to light up with madness. "You have my permission to grab my—"

Hiccup spat in her one good eye to shut her up.

"Gah! You little pig, you'll pay for that!"

"Good grief, Adoncia, is any of this worth it?" he shouted in exasperation as he tugged on the chest, "All this spying and killing and rutting like hogs in the mud—what's the point of it all?"

"Because I like it, Hiccup!" she screamed, "I like upsetting established order! You do too!"

"Not like this I don't!" he tried to twist the chest around to make her break her grip on it, but she caught on and twisted the other way.

"It's like we're dancing!" she laughed, "You know, I've often thought if I danced naked in front of you you'd surrender to me at last! Maybe I could then get you to dance naked in front of me! We could dance naked together!" Hiccup suddenly tugged hard and pulled the chest free from her grip.

"Someone needs to learn to focus!" he laughed dangerously.

"Give me that!"

"Oh, you want it? HERE! YOU'VE EARNED IT!" he swung it into her stomach and she fell backwards. Hiccup drew closer and swung his sword. It hacked at her arm. "This is for what you did to me in Spain!" He swung again and landed a blow to her chest. "This is for Grimm! And this—" he swung a third time and sliced her leg opened. She screamed as the sword cut and burned her flesh, "this is for the Sanctuary!" He feinted with his sword and swung the chest instead, slamming it into her head.

Dazed and in pain, she fell backwards again. Then suddenly she found no ground to step on and she slipped. As she struggled for balance she realized she was standing on a small ledge and there was a river of lava directly below her.

"Hiccup!" she screamed, grabbing his arm. "HICCUP!" she looked into his eyes and saw them hard as jadestone. "GIVE ME ONE MORE CHANCE, PLEASE!"

"Adios, 'Mi Amor,'" he said coldly. He pulled his arm from her grasp and at the same time kicked her away from him. She fell screaming into the lava.

Hiccup had no time to think about what he had just done. Eret had caught up with him again and tried to tackle him, causing him to drop the chest and his sword. The two began wrestling on the cliff edge, when another tremor struck. Eret slipped partway over the edge. Desperately he seized a rock, only to have it break loose and roll away. He frantically reached for another handhold, but another yet tremor struck and he slipped again, this time so that his hands were clinging to the edge. He glanced down and saw the molten red lava below him. One more tremor and it was over.

Then the Dragon King grabbed his arm.

"Don't let go! Don't let go!" Eret pleaded desperately.

"Why would I do this if I was going to kill you?" Hiccup asked through gritted teeth. The man was a lot heavier than he had expected and his arms were feeling the strain. He gave a great heave, and, with Eret using footholds for support, helped him off the cliff face and up onto the ledge.

Eret's first thought was to resume the fight but he just stared at the King. "Why?"

"Let's discuss it later, all right? We're not out of this yet." The King at once picked up his sword and the box and began making his way down the mountain. He got five meters and froze. There was a large stream of flowing lava in front of him and it was growing. It oozed onto the lower parts of the ridge. They were cut off from the base of the island.

"We're surrounded," Hiccup said slowly.

Eret quickly joined him and saw what the situation. "Maybe if we wait a bit—"

"We'll have to, but there's not much to wait for," Hiccup said grimly. The lava below them was rising. The only way to escape it was to climb higher, which meant getting closer to the crater itself. "Our only hope now is a rescue from the air." And he could not see how on earth any of his friends could manage that. This realization struck him and made him feel very odd; almost wistful.

They were forced to crawl further up the volcano to escape the lava. The tremors got even worse the higher they went and projectiles flew past them occasionally.

"Why'd you save me?" Eret asked suddenly.

"Is now a good time?"

"We might be dead any minute now. You might as well tell me." Like Hiccup, he was taking the situation very calmly.

"I don't want you dead,"

"You didn't mind sending Adoncia to her death!" Eret cried.

"I did kill her, didn't I?" Hiccup mused. He did not feel sorry in the slightest about it. If anything, he felt a bit relieved. "But that was different. That was…personal. After all she's done to me…" He was uncertain if he should feel sick or relieved and this uncertainty made him grow even more confused about himself. "Anyway, you've never given me a reason to want you dead."

"I catch dragons! I was the greatest hunter to ever live!"

"If you want me to kill you, I could just—"

"Forget I said anything." They crawled a little further and crouched by a boulder. It probably offered no real protection, but it was a comforting spot for them to be in. "Thanks for killing Drago Bludvist, by the way,"

"Your pleasure," Hiccup said dryly.

They looked downwards. The lava was rising, but they had outdistanced it for a while. The eruption did not seem to be slacking off, but it did not seem to be getting any worse either. Still, it was very hot, the air was poor, the ground shook, and they were both aware each minute might be their last.

"So I saved your life so you'd die a little later?" Hiccup said lightly.

"It seems so," Eret said. "I don't suppose any of your friends could—?"

"Highly unlikely until this stops," Hiccup replied. A tremor struck again and they fell over. The very ground was like embers in a fire pit.

"And to think, this was all for that box you've got there," Eret said bitterly. "We're going to die because some hunters didn't realize it was time to move on and wanted some stupid device badly enough to kill for it."

"You don't sound very pleased with them,"

"They forced me to go along with this trap. I'm tired of it all. I wanted things to be simple again. Just me, a ship, a proud crew, and something to go after; that's a life I'd take any day."

Hiccup smiled slightly, "Here we are, sharing grievances during an eruption,"

"What else is there to do now?" Eret looked up at the sky and folded his arms in a resigned manner. "I just hope it'll be quick."

"Me too," Hiccup said quietly. His thoughts turned to death and the many ways he could die out here. None of them were pleasant, but he seemed to smile at all of them. Heck, anybody could die, could they not? Everybody did at some point. He could face death as well as any person. Would this put him in Valhalla? Dying in an eruption had never been covered in Berk's religious teachings. Or maybe he had just not paid attention at that particular lesson. He wondered idly what would happen to the others after his death. His thoughts turned to Toothless and Astrid, Gobber and his father, Fishlegs and Heather, the Twins, all his dragon friends, Snotlout, heck, even old Mildew. He would not fly on Toothless again, not marry Astrid and raise a family, not work in the forge again, study lore with Fishlegs, help the Twins prank Mildew, not work to earn his father's approval and forgiveness, explore any further, or reconcile with his mother. His resolve trembled away. His steady gaze slowly turned into the expression of someone trying not to cry.

"I don't want to die yet…"

"The chicken is thinking it's time to turn around!" Tuffnut shouted. Chicken had been thinking that this entire time but Tuffnut had ignored it until now.

"Astrid's gonna kill us,"

"Well I don't see him anywhere? Do you?"

"No," Ruff said in a small voice. "Hiccup, where are you? You can't be dead yet, you're supposed to be indestructible! Oh, there he is. As I was saying, how many times have we cheated death together? You can't just—what did I just say? TUFF, THERE HE IS!" she screamed. Sure enough, they could see him and another man sitting beside a boulder.

"The Chicken is overjoyed!" Tuff yelled, "all right, Belch, head in there and let's get him. Where's some rope? Haven't we got any rope?"

As the Zippleback flew nearer they could see the stunned reaction on Hiccup's face. "I HAVE NEVER BEEN SO GLAD TO SEE ANYONE IN MY LIFE!" he shouted up at them.

"GOOD TO KNOW!" Ruff shouted back as her Zippleback dangled a rope down, "Now grab this and let's get…out…of…"

She had seen the man Hiccup was helping up the rope. All at once her eyes bulged out and her mouth slowly fell opened. She was looking at the handsomest man she had ever seen. Dear Odin, she could not take her eyes off him! His face was adorable! His muscles were huge! So was his nose, in a cute way! All at once she knew she had found the one! "Ohhhhhhhh….me likeyyyy!" she said as if hypnotized.

"Um, Ruff?" her brother said uncertainly, "Are you all right?"

"Never better!" she said dreamily. "Oh, come to my arms, my most magnificent man!"

"I don't mean to complain, but could we GET OUT OF HERE MAYBE?" Hiccup shouted from below. The Zippleback got the hint and took off.

"Hold on down there!"

"The thought had occurred to us, Ruff," Hiccup yelled back.

"I wasn't talking to _you_! I was talking to the butch and adorable God of Manliness who's down there with you!"

Ignoring the fact that he was flying through the air, while holding onto a rope, in the middle of an eruption, Eret looked down at Hiccup and yelled "what's she talking about?"

"You, I think,"

"Me?"

"Well she's never called _me_ the God of Manliness and as there's no one else down here…"

"GOD OF WHAT?"

The other Riders had been forced to move off the island and onto a smaller once, which was little more than a rock. Astrid had to have been practically dragged off by Stormfly, while Hookfang and Windshear had carried Toothless, who had been even less willing to leave.

"Look!" Fishlegs exclaimed, "Ships on the right and on the left!" About a score of ships were making their way away from the erupting island, while five more were sailing over on the left and making their way to join them.

"Who cares about some stupid ships? We've gotta find Hiccup and the Twins!" Astrid shouted, furiously scanning the area.

"Then why are they leaving that ship there behind?" Fishlegs asked. Looking at the area around the larger group of ships, he could see one ship was still moored.

"That must be the ship Queen Mala landed on." Heather said, "But where are all the other Defenders?"

" **Fishlegs, Astrid, those are dragon hunter ships, and they've got the Eruptodon on them**!" Toothless cried, " **Whoever stole the Eye will be making for them**!"

" **What's that**?" Astrid exclaimed. " **You mean the person Hiccup's chasing will be heading for those ships**?" Nobody knew he had been chasing Adoncia.

" **Yes! And that means Hiccup and the Twins will all be heading for them too!"**

"Except they aren't!" Fishlegs shouted, "I see them! They're heading for the ship that isn't moving!"

"What ship? I don't see anything!" Snotlout shouted back. Astrid ignored him and mounted Stormfly.

Astrid ignored her too and instead shouted, "Fishlegs, stay here and look after Mala! Make for that ship, Stormfly! Live up to your name!"

"Wait—why do I have to stay behind?" Fishlegs shouted but it was too late. She was already gone and the others were right behind her.

Nobody had planned to land on any ship, but they had little choice because once Barf n' Belch were close enough the Zippleback collapsed onto it, tossing every human down the deck as if they were toys.

Eret tried to heave himself back up when Tuffnut suddenly climbed onto him. "All right, who are you and what are you doing here? And don't even think about lying to me if you know what's good for you! I'm the greatest interrogator in the whole world—and most of Denmark!"

"Not now, Tuffnut!" Hiccup snapped as he picked himself up. "We need to get back to the—" his gaze fell upon the Zippleback and it was clear as daylight the dragon was in no shape for another flight. The poor creature was slumped on the deck and wheezing loudly. The slightest movement took the greatest effort. "All right—Ruff, Tuff, will you two please get off of Eret and get the anchor up?"

"His name is Eret?" Ruff said dreamily, "what a perfect name!"

Eret had all sorts of ways he could have replied but Tuffnut had fallen over as the ship rocked and his arm ended up on Eret's mouth.

Slowly the ship got underway, as best as it could, for the rudder was broken. There was little room for finesse or expert seamanship, but the volcano was making enough waves and wind to push the boat further into the ocean.

The Riders in the air soon found the best way to get to Hiccup and the Twins meant going over the five ships that were heading to join the larger group, and due to the air conditions they were forced to keep low. They had not intended to fight, but when one ship fired a net at Hookfang, who was carrying Toothless, Snotlout lost his temper and roared for the Nightmare to return fire. Astrid was more interested in getting to Hiccup, but she was not about to let Snotlout fight alone. And Heather was not about to let the others fight without her, so she and Windshear joined the fight as well.

"Get 'em, Hookfang!" Snotlout shouted eagerly.

" **This really awkward, carrying you, flying, and fighting at the same time**!" Hookfang shouted to Toothless, right before spitting a plume of flame at a sail. " **Why can't you just always wear that fin nobody needs to operate**?"

" **You wouldn't understand** ," Toothless said as he fired a blast of his own.

" **What I do understand is, at times like this, you're almost helpless**!"

" **Oh, is carrying me too much work for you**?" Toothless retorted in a tone worthy of his rider.

They targeted mainly the sails, rudders, and net launchers. It was not too difficult to do damage, for the ships already seemed to be in battered conditions, as if they had seen action very recently.

Windshear swooped over one ship intending to deliver the death blow to a net launcher. But this kind of combat was new to her. She broke out of the glide too late and Hunters threw a tangle mesh of nets onto her and Heather.

"Got 'em!" one shouted.

"Hey lads! The lassie's got the same armor as those chumps we just walloped!" another yelled. Heather froze for an instant but then grabbed her axe and slashed at the nets around her. And unfortunately for the hunters, the nets did not keep Windshear's mouth closed, and she spat fire indiscriminately.

Over from his vantage point Fishlegs watched as best as he could. The whole time he squirmed and fidgeted. He wanted desperately to get in there and help them, but he could not just abandon Mala either. This was even worse than being in battle. In battle you could at least do something, but here he felt incredibly helpless. He had an especially horrible moment when he saw Windshear and Heather go down, but to his immense relief they fought their way out of their predicament.

"Phew! Go get 'em, Heather! Go, go, go!" he cheered.

"You go too!" Mala groaned at him. "Don't worry about me! Get the Eye back!"

Fishlegs hesitated. "Are you sure? Can you manage alone?"

"Of course I'm sure!" she screamed. The effort caused her a lot of pain but she masked it, "Go get the Eye back!"

Fishlegs needed no more urging. "We'll be back soon! C'mon, Meatlug!"

Despite the foul air conditions Stormfly had seldom flown as fast, and she reached the ship several hundred meters ahead of the others. Astrid threw herself off and spotted Hiccup with a rope trying to adjust a sail. A huge wave of relief swept over her, followed swiftly by a wave of pure fury. She stormed over to him and slugged him in the face.

"Welcome aboard," Hiccup grunted as he clutched his nose.

"You stupid, _stupid_ son of a half troll! What were you _thinking_ , going off on your own like that in the middle of an _eruption_?" She shouted, "Do you think I like wondering if I've seen you for the last time?"

Behind them, Hookfang dropped Toothless onto the deck and the Night Fury went up to Hiccup and whacked him with his tail.

"Why is it even my friends enjoy hurting me?" Hiccup shouted and he was not at all joking.

"It's because we care about you too much!" Astrid shouted back.

" **That's what happens when you nearly get yourself killed and scare us half to death!** " Toothless growled.

"What's happened?" Heather interrupted, "who stabbed Queen Mala? Where's the Eye?"

Hiccup pointed to a corner of the deck, where the chest rested. "As for the person who stabbed Mala, she won't hurt anyone anymore." He turned and kicked the ship's mast.

Heather grabbed the chest and examined it. "It's all intact. Good. Let's get out of here before anything else happens."

Meatlug flopped onto the deck and Fishlegs leapt off of her.

"You were supposed to stay with Mala!" Heather shouted.

"I know and I'll explain later, but guys, look!" Fishlegs pointed over her shoulder. The fleet of ships was returning and heading directly towards them and moving quickly. From behind more boulders went flying into the ocean, making waves which pushed them closer to their hunters.

"Can't this just end already?" Hiccup groaned.

"Let's get going!" Astrid said. "Who's gonna carry Barf n' Belch?"

" **Don't look at me**!" Hookfang growled wearily, " **I'm tired**!"

" **So is Meatlug** ," Stormfly said.

" **I'll manage**!" the Gronkle panted, " **just need to get my breath back. Just be a minute**."

Toothless looked around quickly. The ships were getting closer. The Zippleback was still out, Meatlug was tired, the others looked just about as tired, they had more people to carry now, and the volcano was still erupting. Instinct told him to attack or run, but could they do either? Those ships were built specifically to catch dragons and there were nearly 20 of them. None of them could dodge the projectiles from that many ships at the same time.

Hiccup had also taken a look around. He grabbed Astrid's arm and said quickly "If we want to fly through decent air we'll end up in range of their net shooters. Whoever carries Barf n' Belch will be an easy target! Meatlug will be too if we leave right now!"

"We're any easy target as it is!" Astrid reminded him. "And if we leave right now we might be able to outdistance them before they know what's going on!"

"I wouldn't bet on that!" Eret said loudly. "They'll be expecting it! Their nets will drop you all into the sea, and they'll haul your dragons on board and leave you to drown!"

"I don't wanna drown!" Snotlout cried.

"Don't listen to him!" Heather snapped, "He's just trying to scare us into surrendering!"

Hiccup looked around and waved an arm. "Everyone take up positions on the sides! If we can't fly away we'll fight them off!"

"That's the spirit!" Heather said enthusiastically, "Windshear, blast the nearest ship!"

Windshear tried to obey but instead of a sheet of flame a mere thread flew out of her mouth. " **What? Oh no…c'mon, c'mon!** "

"Did you guys use all your shots on those other ships?" Fishlegs cried.

"What other ships?" Hiccup said sharply. "Oh. Those other ships. Oh great…"

Hookfang and Stormfly both tried to spit flames at the enemy ships. Hookfang spat out only a few embers, which Snotlout kicked overboard. Stormfly succeeded in shooting a nice plume of fire. Unfortunately, that also meant she was another shot down.

Hiccup turned to Toothless, " **Bud, c'mon, your shot limit is a lot higher, you can't have used all of them**!"

" **I haven't, but I can't shoot in circles**!"

Eret looked amused. "You can't fight! Ha!"

"C'mon, Hiccup," Snotlout said. He was close to panicking, "what's Plan B?"

"That _was_ Plan B, and it just got busted."

"We can still fight them!" Heather shouted. She spat at Eret. "We're not licked yet, _hunter_ ,"

Hiccup turned quickly at these words. "Yes, he's a hunter! And a very good one, so he's told me! Perfect! Tie him up right now!"

"What?" Eret exclaimed but Windshear was already on top of him. They had not done this sooner because everyone had been too focused on getting away from the volcano, Eret included. Ruffnut at first was aghast, but then realized Eret tied up meant he could not get away from her, so she was delighted.

"Oh, hold me Hunter of my Heart!" she cried as she flung herself onto him.

Ignoring what had just happened Hiccup said quickly, "Nothing to worry about, Eret, we're just taking precautions. I'm sure you'll understand. Guy's, come over here. Does anybody have a white cloth? We'll offer them Eret in exchange for an hour long head start. Even if they refuse the offer the negotiations will buy us some time!" He spoke softly, although Eret could probably guess what was going on even without hearing him.

"And what guarantee do we have they'll honor the terms?" Heather demanded, putting her hands on her hips. "For that matter, what guarantee do we have they won't just sink us right now?"

"Because we have what they want!" Hiccup smiled deviously. He gestured to the chest and Eret.

Astrid now cut in. "Every dragon, take up a position behind the railing! Pretend you're all loaded. Stay low and look as dangerous as possible!"

Most of the dragons could not grin, but if they could they would have right then.

Fishlegs had procured a semi-white rag he normally used to clean Meatlug with. Hiccup then climbed up the mast and then roared at the top of his lungs "FLAG OF TRUCE!"

The ships continued to advance, but that was probably by acts of nature rather than the desire of their captains. Hiccup shouted his words again and this time someone responded. "WHO'S OFFERING?"

"WE WANT TO TALK OVER TERMS!"

The ships were clearly slowing down now. "IN WHOSE NAME ARE YOU ACTING?"

"MINE OF COURSE!" Hiccup shouted back impatiently, "NOW LISTEN UP! WE HAVE YOUR FRIEND ERET HERE! YOU LET US GO FREE AND YOU'LL GET HIM BACK! IT'S THAT SIMPLE!"

" **Too bad humans don't always understand the simple things** ," Hookfang commented to Windshear.

"AND JUST WHO ARE YOU?" someone from another ship now yelled.

"I THINK YOU KNOW PERFECTLY WELL WHO I AM OR YOU WOULDN'T BE HERE!" Hiccup yelled. He had considered leaving their identities secret but now realized those people would have seen the dragons and work it out for themselves. "AND IF YOU THINK OF FIRING ON US I'LL HAVE YOUR SHIPS REDUCED TO CINDERS!"

He could hear laughter. "WE'VE GOT YOU SURROUNDED!" someone yelled.

"AND THAT MEANS WE CAN'T MISS!" Astrid yelled back.

"Thank you Milady, I was just about to say that,"

"Anytime,"

There was a brief pause and then someone called "OUR LEADER SAYS HE WOULD LOVE TO ACCEPT YOUR TERMS AND HE WOULD BE DELIGHTED IF YOU CAME OVER IN PERSON TO CONVERSE WITH HIM!"

"Now if that doesn't smell like a trap I'm a rat!" Tuffnut exclaimed.

"It does smell like a trap and you keep your family out of this!" Snotlout retorted.

"Can it, you two!" Heather ordered.

"But I'm right, right? It's gotta be a trap! What else could it be?"

"OH AND ONE MORE THING! OUR LEADER WOULD LIKE TO REMIND YOU THAT IF YOU HAVE A HOSTAGE, SO DO WE! YOU WOULDN'T WANT THE POOR ERUPTODON TO GET HURT, NOW WOULD YOU?"

Hiccup swore. "I forgot about that."

" **So what now**?" Toothless asked, " **We don't know what ship he's on. He'll drown if we sink them all—assuming they don't kill him themselves!** " Hunters at sea tended to leave dragons alive as long as possible, so they would not start decomposing, but there always exceptions to that rule.

"OH AND ONE MORE THING—ER, AGAIN! OUR LEADER SAYS HE WILL GLADLY GIVE AGREE TO YOUR TERMS IF YOU GIVE HIM THE DRAGON EYE! YOU CAN KEEP ERET!"

"WHAT?" Eret exclaimed.

"YAY!" Ruffnut cheered. "It's a deal!" Heather kicked her.

"Well, Eret, that's loyalty for you," Hiccup said, "hunt dragons for years and here's your reward. Now be quiet, please, I need to think a minute."

"Look, they're probably just bluffing, I'm sure if you pressed they'd take agree to—"

"I _said_ I need to think!" Hiccup yelled. Everyone was taken aback by the sudden temper and no one dared talk.

Except Toothless, that is. " **Mind telling me what you've got in mind** _ **this**_ **time**?"

Hiccup scanned the sky briefly and looked disappointed when he saw nothing. Then he smiled nastily. "They want to have a meeting, don't they? Then I'll meet with this leader."

"Then I'm coming with you," Astrid said flatly.

Mala was sliding in and out of consciousness, and every time she was coherent her body felt like it was on fire. Yet not a sound did she make as she felt life slowly ebbing away. She was seething with rage. Rage that this had happened, rage that she had been duped, raged that these Hunters would succeed at last, rage that she had failed, and rage at everyone who had failed her. If she could only get her fist around someone's throat she would break their windpipe. And she slowly became aware there was someone beside her. Someone she did not recognize. It was probably a hunter, come to either gloat or speed up her end. She tried to reach for them, intending to fight back in any way she could.

"Don't move," her new companion ordered, "you'll make the injury worse,"

"Why would a Dragon Hunter care?" Mala spat.

"I'm no Dragon Hunter." They replied firmly, "I despise them as much as you do." Mala tried to sit up to get a better look at the person but the person pushed her back down. "Be still. Oh I just knew something like this would happen."

"Well if you're not a hunter, then who are you?"

"My name is Valka, and I'm going to get us out of this mess if I can."

"Where's Heather? Where are my Defenders?"

"I don't know." Valka's mind was racing furiously. She and Cloudjumper had lost track of the Dragon Riders when they had split up. At last, less than an hour ago, they had spotted 5 hunter ships and followed them.

" **I see a larger fleet of ships—they are surrounding something**." Cloudjumper announced from his vantage point. " **The ones we followed are joining them. Oh dear**."

" **What**?" Valka said impatiently. " **What**?"

" **I see your son and his future mate swinging on a rope to one of the ships. Your son is carrying a chest. Probably the chest containing the Dragon Eye**."

Valka assumed the worst. The Dragon Riders were all prisoners or soon would be, and the Eye was taken again. Even worse, she could not help them, for she no match for that many foes and now she had a wounded person to look after.

Mala was sliding into unconsciousness. Valka had a closer look at her injury. It was not necessarily a fatal wound, but without treatment it likely would be. Valka had learned much about injuries and treatments over the years but she could hardly do anything here with the most minimal medical supplies. And even if she could, Hiccup and the others were still up against a great fleet of hunters, and a recovering woman would hardly even the odds.

" **Cloudjumper, do you think you can carry her and me**?"

" **It will be no difficulty. But where will I carry her to**?"

" **Berk. If what Hiccup's told me is true, they'll help us. Gods have mercy."** She slammed her fist into her leg and yelled "Hiccup, why didn't you listen to me?"


	17. Chapter 17

**I Own Nothing—All Rights Reserved**

 **There are two things I want to make clear about this chapter:**

 **Never take any of Viggo Grimborn's words at face value.**

 **When it comes to playing 'Maces and Talons', my portrayal probably takes liberties and makes mistakes. I freely admit this. But in my defense I went through Wiki pages, transcripts, episode clips, and even looked up genuine Viking board games for information, and the results were pretty meager. So while I probably made mistakes, I feel I should not be judged too harshly for them when a clear set of rules for this game does not seem to even exist.**

 **Chapter 17**

 **Maces and Talons**

As soon as Hiccup and Astrid landed on the deck, a man grabbed Hiccup. "Listen to me," he said quietly and urgently, "I'll let the Eruptodon go if you throw the Eye overboard right now. Deal?"

"Excuse me?"

But before anyone could say anything more someone from another ship called to them "DRACCUS, YOUR BROTHER ASSUMES YOU AND OUR GUESTS ARE COMING OVER RIGHT NOW TO SEE HIM!"

Draccus faltered, glanced at the sailors behind him, and then back to the other ship. "Err—WELL OF COURSE! TELL VIGGO WE'LL BE RIGHT OVER!"

"HE'S ANXIOUSLY EXPECTING YOU!"

Draccus turned back to Hiccup and Astrid. "There's still time. Drop the Eye while we're swinging over and no one will be the wiser!"

"No." Hiccup said firmly.

"What? Look I'm—I'm on your side," he said so low that only they could hear him. "I want Viggo to fail too!"

"Then let us play this out our way," Astrid whispered. They moved away from him and made their way down the deck. On the way Hiccup tripped and fell on his face.

"OW!" he shouted, " **Toothless, I think the Eruptodon's on this ship**!" To everyone else it sounded like he was simply crying out in pain.

After this they swung over to the next ship. The first person Hiccup saw was a man with short red hair and several scars and tattoos on his face, who looked positively delighted to see him. "Why it's my little brother, come to rejoin the family!"

"And just when I was starting to think the Gods didn't hate me," Hiccup groaned.

Dagur the Deranged, for it was him, was outraged. "Ungrateful! We've been apart for nearly a year and that's the welcome I get! He treats me like a tree treats a pinecone! Why gizzard I'll through your run this!" he whipped out a knife and nearly threw it at Hiccup before he realized everyone was staring at him. Sheepishly he put the knife down. "Sorry, I meant to say 'why I'll run this through your gizzard,'"

"Well, they don't call him Dagur the Deranged for nothing," Astrid commented to Hiccup, who nodded with nervous amusement.

"And it's the lovely Astrid Hofferson! Berks Ex-Hare! Ex-hare? No—let me see, ex-hare, ex-hair, ex-hare, ex-air, ex-err—"

"Dagur, would you please knock it off?" Draccus snapped as he joined them. "Viggo doesn't want to be kept waiting."

"Quite right! So, little brother, how have you been? Keeping busy?" Dagur asked eagerly as they moved towards the stern end of the ship.

"Very," Hiccup retorted.

"Such hostility! He's so mean to me! Hiccup, you're mean!" Dagur pouted.

Astrid scowled. "Well, let's see: you've tried to destroy our island, kill everyone on it, enslave our dragons, threatened us on every possible occasion, took part in torturing him—to name just the events of last year—do I need to go on?"

Another man appeared in front of them and grinned. "Nah, I think we get it,"

"Why am I not surprised?" Hiccup moaned.

The grin on the face of his old tormentor Hognose grew even wider, revealing a lack of teeth, "'Ello there, Fishbone! Fan-sea meeting you here! An' if it ain't Astrid!" he grinned lewdly at her. "'Ello, lassie! Come ta lose yer virtue ta me? Assumin' the Fishbone or Snotty 'aven't taken it already!"

Astrid calmly replied. "Hello, Hognose. Come to lose a few more teeth to my fist?"

"If it meant gitting ta touch yer—"

"I believe we're here to see somebody?" Hiccup said loudly.

Hognose looked disappointed but gestured to the very back of the ship. A large bald man was standing there.

"That's my brother Ryker," Draccus whispered.

"So you're the leader here?" Hiccup asked as they approached him.

"Actually not," said someone from behind Ryker, "step aside, brother, and let me introduce myself." Ryker moved away to reveal a man seated on a chair. He was much leaner than Ryker and had short black hair and a beard. His clothes were brown leather, and he wore spiked plates of metal over his shoulders. His eyes were dark and his gaze was piercing. " _I_ am the head of the Hunters, my boy." He said in a smooth voice. "Perhaps you have heard of me? Viggo Grimborn."

Hiccup could not help himself. "What, did your mother have a hard time giving birth to you?"

Most of those present were horrified, except Dagur, who burst into a loud laugh and congratulated his 'brother'. Viggo Grimborn himself only smiled very slightly, "Childishly amusing. I expected better from the vaunted Dragon King. But to business. You have the Dragon Eye. I want the Dragon Eye. I have an Eruptodon. You want the Eruptodon. A simple exchange is quite reasonable here, wouldn't you say? We are surely both reasonable men of business, reasonable enough to see that it would benefit us both to agree to my offer,"

"Can't I jest kill 'em?" Hognose asked imploringly. "Me an' Iccup go way back—he's had this commen for a long time!"

"Quiet," Viggo said. Hognose at once fell silent. "This is business, not personal, Hognose. Well, Dragon King? What do you say to my offer?"

"It's very clear and concise," Hiccup returned, "But what will you do with the Eye if I give it to you? Hunt down every last dragon for profit?"

Viggo looked appalled. "I would never do that!"

"Right, because we'd destroy our own business if we did," Draccus said loudly.

"Draccus, if I want your opinion I will ask for it!" Viggo said sharply. Then in a smoother tone he said, "Rest assured, my young friend, I have no desire to see dragons go extinct,"

"You haven't answered his question yet," Astrid interrupted, "what will you do with the Eye if you had it?"

"Use it to further my own interests," Viggo replied easily, "as would anyone who possessed it. I imagine you two would like to use it for knowledge. A wise idea. Knowledge is power, after all. And with that knowledge you will gain more prestige and respect among your fellows, ensuring your own advancements and the defeats of your enemies. I have much the same desire, only my interests are more material."

Hiccup and Astrid both felt very uncomfortable with what he saw saying.

"Surely you would at least let me _borrow_ the Eye, if you desire it so much?" Viggo added, "Let me have it for an hour—just an hour—and it shall be returned to you, with a bag of gold in addition. Think about how much good can be done with such wealth, my young friends." He moved forwards a little, his hand extended, "I suppose you do not trust Dragon Hunters, but Vikings did not trust dragons once, and now both sides are friends and beneficiaries. History can repeat itself. Let me have the Eye for just an hour and we will soon form the strongest alliance in existence. Berk will benefit in ways you cannot even imagine. Just one hour…"

Astrid spoke up. "Hiccup, remember what you told me about Troy? That priest said—what was it?—I fear the Greeks most when they bring gifts?"

"Quite right," Hiccup replied, "Sorry Viggo, but as people of business, I'm afraid we must decline the offer."

"Then what is _your_ offer, if you do not mind my asking?" Viggo replied, resuming his original position. "You came here to talk and you have brought the Eye with you," here he indicated to the chest Hiccup was holding, "You surely would not come here for an idle reason. And I do hope," his voice hardened a little, "you do not forget that at this very moment your ship is surrounded by my fleet and you two are surrounded by my men."

"Thanks for the reminder, but it was unnecessary," Hiccup replied.

Viggo stroked his beard thoughtfully. "What is the game, young man? You will not agree to my very generous offer. And I will not agree to anything you offer unless I get the Eye in return."

"Let me at 'em, brother!" Ryker growled, "They'll hand it over!"

"Give me ten minutes with them, brother, and I'll see they hand it over!" Draccus added very eagerly.

"Let's jest kill 'em!" Hognose added.

"Lock the key up and throw them away!" Dagur shouted. "I mean…lock them up and throw away the key,"

Viggo raised a hand up. "Quiet, all of you. I have a new offer. Since we seem to be at an impasse, how about a game? You know how to play Maces and Talons, yes?"

Hiccup and Astrid exchanged glances. "I used to, but I'm a bit out of practice," Hiccup said at last. In fact he had not played it since he was fourteen.

"Ah, well so am I." Viggo said quickly. "Excellent, excellent. Then let us play. If I win, I get the Eye. If you win, you may keep it."

"And get to leave?" Astrid added sharply.

"Of course, my dear." Viggo replied sweetly. So sweetly it was like food with too much sugar added. "Deal?"

Hiccup smiled and gestured to the chest. "You win and I will hand this over to you without hesitation. Where's the board?"

"Oh I prefer to play with live pieces," Viggo replied. "Hognose, will you please go and fetch some more men? Dagur, you will be one of my hunters. Brother Draccus, why don't you play the role of…oh…how about the Traitor?"

"This is a waste of time, if you ask me," he grumbled.

"I didn't, so take your position. Oh yes, and Ryker, fetch a chair for our guest."

"You can have the chair, Astrid," Hiccup said. He sat down on the chest.

"Actually, Astrid, why don't you take your place as one of Hiccup's pieces?" Viggo suggested. "It would not be fair if both of you were playing against me, now would it?"

" **Sure you know what you're doing**?" Astrid asked in Dragonese. She looked calm and steadfast as any soldier, but inside these niceties and games made her stomach squirm. She would have preferred to bring her axe and just split their skulls opened.

" **We're just here to buy time and keep them occupied** ," Hiccup said reassuringly. And they were there to examine their new enemy up close. " **Let's play the game for now** ,"

"Stop making those noises," Dagur ordered. "If we want loud noises I'll start singing!"

Astrid smiled and ignored the man. " **I trust you, you know**." She then went to take her place on the deck, which was serving as the game board.

Hiccup felt his cheeks burn and prayed her trust was not misplaced. "All right. Are you playing as the Marauder Chief or Viking Chief?"

"Well I _would_ prefer to play as Viking Chief, but it would be more fitting if you took that side. I'm sure you are an honorable Viking Chief if ever there was one. Oh, but then of course, I forgot, you are not a Chief yet, are you?" His smile looked benign but Hiccup suddenly felt a bit colder.

Hognose returned with more men, they were distributed, and the game began.

Viggo led off, moving his pieces around the sides of the board, clearly intending to flank Hiccup's. So Hiccup moved his pieces over to the left, hoping to concentrate a superior force against a portion of Viggo's pieces and capture them. But this meant his right side was largely undefended, and the other half of Viggo's pieces moved to exploit the opening. Hiccup gave up the chase and put his pieces into a defense position, but he lost a hunter in the process.

"Yeah!" Dagur shouted jubilantly, "Get 'em, Viggo! Lock 'em up in the Berserker cells for the rest of their natural lives and rip them to pieces and cut their heads off and dance over their rotting corpses and turn their guts into mandolin strings—and then make them eat pinecones!" He suddenly sniffed. "I did that when I was a little boy…that and threw them at everyone I saw!"

Viggo smiled with satisfaction and suggested some wine be brought. Hiccup raised the glass to his lips and sniffed it carefully. "Brandywine I think?"

"Why Hiccup, I did not know you were a connoisseur of wine,"

"Sometimes," Hiccup replied before pretending to take a sip. Viggo looked at him calmly but his eyes seemed to burn as they stared at Hiccup. "Aren't you going to have some?"

"Oh yes, of course," Viggo sipped his wine but kept his eyes fixed on Hiccup. And Hiccup guessed why. Viggo had probably poisoned the drink and was expecting him to drop dead at any moment. Whether or not this was for real or just a test—a probe of the defenses, so to speak—he did not know, but he was not inclined to take the chance. So he just smiled, pretended to take another sip, and had Astrid move over a space. Viggo resumed the game too, as if he had not just tried to poison anyone. "You see, Hiccup, we hunters are not animals," he said. "We all like to enjoy the finer things in life."

"Clearly," Hiccup replied, putting on an aristocratic air.

"Old wines, old books, old estates, and old allegiances. Our kind like the traditional luxuries of a healthy life. Surely you do not object to such things?"

"Depends on how they're acquired," Hiccup replied, "and thanks for the hunter." He had repositioned his pieces into an inverted 'V' shape on the center island. Viggo had gone leftwards in another flanking maneuver, and Hiccup went after it with one side of the 'V'. Viggo sent another hunter down the left and Hiccup responded by moving all of his pieces after them. It looked like he had just exposed his chief a second time, except Viggo did not have enough pieces in the right place to exploit the opening. He at once pulled his pieces back, but Hiccup got one in the process. Astrid could not help but look at Hognose smugly.

"Very clever, Hiccup, very clever. But those tricks can only fool a person once, unless you're playing with a fool."

"Like Dagur?" Hiccup teased.

"That's right!" Dagur said arrogantly, "And I—wait a minute!"

"So Viggo, mind clearing something up for me? If you wanted the Eye so badly, why did you steal the Eruptodon and let the volcano erupt? It would be a bit hard to locate the Eye under a river of lava, which is where it nearly ended up."

"Ah, I am sorry for that. Our intention was to take the Eruptodon after the Eye was brought to us. I believe Draccus got a little carried away or misunderstood the plan," he gave his brother a hard look, and Draccus look up at the sky.

Back on their ship, the other Riders and dragons were having an anxious time waiting. Some wanted to save the Eruptodon at once and get out of there, but Toothless refused to act, knowing the Hunters would just take Hiccup and Astrid hostage and make them stop. No, they could only mount a rescue when their humans were safe. Thankfully, the plan to stall for time was working. The dragons could feel their firepower returning, Meatlug had gotten her breath back, and they had finally woken up Barf n' Belch. Tuffnut had banged the rhythm of a Viking war song on the Zippleback's heads with his helmet, and for some reason this had stirred him.

At first everyone waited tensely for a fight to break out on the hunter's ship, but nothing happened that seemed out of the ordinary. As the calm continued, Heather decided to pay their captive a visit. Eret was relieved to see her, for Ruffnut was cuddling up next to him and creating syrupy love poems again. It was then Heather noticed a slight bulge in one of Eret's pockets and wondered furiously why nobody had searched him.

"Where did you get this?" she demanded once she removed the object. It was a small bag that held a rock and a crumpled up sheet of paper. It was the map to the last Dragon Eye lens, the only one that remained hidden.

"Adoncia threw it to me when she was fighting Hiccup," Eret said quickly.

"How did _she_ get a hold of it?"

"I don't know! She probably stole it when that Queen Lady wasn't looking! I don't know!"

Heather put it in her bag. "All right then," she growled at Eret, holding her axe where it was clearly visible, "what happened to the Defenders of the Wing? What have you done with them?"

"I haven't done anything to them!" he said nervously.

"Let me rephrase my question then: what have the _hunters_ done to them?"

"I don't know!" Eret cried, "I haven't—"

"Then what were the hunters _planning_ to do to them?" Heather shouted impatiently, "Stop taking my questions literally and tell me what you know!"

"Or we'll force feed you yaknog and meatballs!" Tuffnut yelled down, "or have Ruffnut kiss you! Blech!"

Ruff was delighted. Eret was horrified. "All right, all right, look, you know who Adoncia is, right? She joined up with us after last year's war, and Viggo later sent her to spy on the Defenders of the Wing. She's the one who was telling us where to find lenses and who later stole the Eye—only you lot stole it back from the men she brought it to,"

"Go on," Heather said dangerously.

"Well…after it was stolen again by that Dragon Rider—and I have no idea who that was, I swear—after that, she framed the Dragon King for the theft to get him involved—"

"Wait a minute—are you telling me this Adoncia woman is Serene?" Heather exclaimed.

"Who?"

"Serene! She's one of the Defenders! She's the one who accused Hiccup of stealing the Eye! She joined up shortly before I—" the truth dawned on Heather then. "'Serene' was just an alias, wasn't it?" She had known about Adoncia from the others and had known the Defender named Serene personally, but she had never thought they were one and the same.

"I don't know—anyhow, since Adoncia was part of the Defenders she knew when and where you'd bring the Dragon Eye. So we set up an ambush. All I know is the Defenders were to patrol the area, but Adoncia then gave them fake orders to make for one place where some of our ships would be waiting. I have no idea what the outcome was, please, don't hurt me!" he cried, for Heather was holding her axe closer to his face with every sentence he uttered.

"Are they alive?" she demanded.

"I don't know! I mean—I saw our ships returning so I'd assume they were successful—but they might have left some survivors!" he added quickly, for Heather looked furious now. It was hard to believe such a thin and lovely woman could look so intimidating, but he was a believer now.

Heather struck him in the head and turned away. For a moment Eret thought he heard her fighting back tears, but decided he had misheard.

He had not misheard. And there was bitter rage mixed in with the tears she was trying to hold back.

"I'll avenge them, Mala," she whispered, "and you too, if you've…no, don't think like that!" she shook her head as if that would get rid of the thought. "She might still be alive, so might some others too!"

Still, she promised herself she would succeed in ending this hunting organization or die trying.

Viggo shifted his weight and ordered Draccus to move to the right. "So tell me, Hiccup, why do you persist in destroying my trade? As a Viking you must surely understand the implications for trade and the importance of it. Your people would be almost helpless without trade, and yet you are bringing it to a halt!"

"Not all trade," Hiccup replied, "just the Dragon Trade,"

"A wise man would seek to use trade for their advantage and profit from it, not wipe it out," Viggo said.

"A wise man would know that profit and gain are not always good things,"

"Good is merely a matter of perspective," Viggo replied.

"Not entirely," Astrid retorted, "there are some things that everyone agrees are dishonorable and shouldn't be done. Killing, theft, adultery, treachery, cowardice…"

"Oh yes, they _agree_ they are all bad, yet they still do them. And while we're on the subject of theft, _you,_ Hiccup, are a serious offender. You've stolen 453 of my dragons!"

"Really? I don't keep count anymore." Hiccup smirked. "And _you're_ the thieves, Viggo, not me. You _took_ those 453 dragons. I rescued them, with the help of my very good friends."

"So in other words, you've been stealing what we've captured?" Dagur said. "Hey! You've been stealing what we've captured! What kind of dirty, low life does something so distasteful, taking something that's already been taken?"

"As you said, good is a matter of perspective, and from my perspective, I was in the right. You seem very well informed, by the way, Viggo. Most people would be content to say 'hundreds of dragons', not 453 exactly."

"I am not like 'most people'. I have studied hard to hone my mind," Viggo said forcefully, "it helps with business connections to be exact. As a Chief you should know that—but of course, you are not a Chief yet—and at the rate you're going, with all the enemies you're making, you might never become one." He ordered the Traitor to move a square over. Nobody was quite certain whose side Draccus was on, but he was subject to commands from both of them. "You are making enemies, Hiccup. I am the master of the Dragon Hunters, but I am not alone. You are threatening a mighty organization, whose size, capabilities, and influence you cannot possibly know, clever as you might be."

"So did you study for fun or because it benefited business?" Hiccup asked. Most of his own research had been conducted to satisfy his own curiosity, not because he was expecting to use it later on. When he had read about Troy he certainly never expected to use the information in real life settings, he had simply found an interest in Greek stories and wanted to learn more. More importantly, he wanted to divert the subject away from himself so he would not accidently reveal too much.

"It was to benefit my business, of course, which in turn benefitted me!" Viggo said as if it was obvious, "why would I bother to study something that did not benefit me?"

"Why not?" Hiccup asked lightly. "Does everything have to be judged by how much it helps self advancement?"

"Of course! Everyone acts in their own self interests. That is the first rule of business. And I am, first and foremost, a man of business. And what I cannot _understand_ is why you want to ruin my business,"

Hiccup gestured for Astrid to move forward a space. "Because I think your business is immoral. You kill magnificent creatures, cut them up, and sell the pieces."

"Dragon skin armor has saved many a soldier in battle," Viggo hinted, "so have weapons made from dragon bones, claws, and teeth,"

"And have killed many a person also."

"Dragon teeth and bones have been used for tools too. Hognose tells me you were a blacksmith. You surely would understand the values of tools."

"They're also sold in apothecary shops. And I know for a fact Viggo, that crushed dragon claw mixed in wine does _not_ make limbs grow back." He gestured to his metal leg. "Your line of business is not only cruel to dragons: it leads to humans being scammed out of their money."

"And for your information, nobody on Berk uses tools made from dragons." Astrid added sharply. During the 3 centuries of war with dragons, it had been thought distasteful and dishonorable to use the remains of the enemy to build their village. The remains of dragons had been used purely for decorations on Berk.

"Can I be blamed if wicked people exist and use the same products I use for dishonest reasons?" Viggo asked with great magnanimity. "If someone comes to me and offers money in return for a bag of dragon teeth, can I be blamed for making the deal? You don't blame arrow makers when people are killed by arrows. And if they did not have dragon parts, they would use the parts of other animals to cheat people."

"That doesn't excuse selling dragon remains," Hiccup said coldly.

"My boy, _you_ are the immoral one, not I! Consider! I give people jobs. I give them wages. Your piece on the right—the one I have just taken, bad luck—he has a wife and two children at home. When he joined us they were starving. Now they have food on the table every night, they sleep in warm beds under a firm roof, they can afford the best doctors, and his son is even getting a proper education! You may call me immoral, but to that man there and many like him, I like to think they would call me their savior. And you want to ruin his only source of income and return him to poverty."

"There are other jobs out there," Hiccup said. This argument was nothing new to him. He had debated it himself many times. "I keep telling you people, if you want to follow the sea, join a merchant's guild or be a fisherman, and if you want violence, join someone's army."

"What if they don't want either of that?" Viggo asked, "what if they like the job they have and are quite happy with things the way they are? Why should they change because you tell them to?"

Hiccup countered with a question of his own. "Suppose there was a murderer. Suppose he was a man who enjoyed watching his victims suffer. Suppose he was a man who enjoyed torturing others and who like to make death agonizingly slow as possible. Would you not agree he ought to change? Even if he was quite happy with the way things were?"

"Certainly he should change his ways or be executed—but we hunters are not murderers!" Viggo said indignantly.

"Ah, but that's the problem, Viggo. Having lived with dragons for years, I'd say you are." Hiccup's smile was icy. "You can spout the self righteous ideologies all you want, but it doesn't change what I've seen, or the fact that you've destroyed thousands of dragon families for the sake of profit. Astrid's dragon lost her mate and offspring to people like you, and she's hardly alone. So Viggo, I don't really care if your hunters don't want change, because my dragons do want change. Given how your side only faces unemployment if I have my way, and mine faces certain death if you have your way, you pardon me if I don't feel too sympathetic for your hunters." And with that Hiccup had one of Viggo's pieces taken.

"You're young and an idealist," Viggo said quietly, and without any velvet lining in his tone. "You young people always think you can change the world. You think you'll make things better but soon things return to their natural status and you've done nothing but waste your life." He ordered another player to take a step forward. It was just what Hiccup wanted and he ordered his own piece to make the capture, only to discover that was just what Viggo wanted. Hiccup's side was now in very dire shape.

"Nice sacrifice," He commented.

"Thank you. You see, Hiccup, no one is irreplaceable. That is one of the little facts of life you should always keep in mind."

"Oh I don't know. They never replaced Alexander the Great when he died," Hiccup said lightly, "But if we follow your logic that means that you can be replaced too, Viggo."

"And that is why I make myself indispensible, so they dare not replace me. I keep details to myself, I trust no one with everything, and I ensure I succeed—by any means possible," his voice now had a steel edge to it and his eyes glinted. Astrid felt they were looking at the real Viggo Grimborn now. "And if we follow my logic it means you can be replaced too,"

Hiccup looked thoughtful. "I know I can," he said quietly, "I had a little brush with death earlier today. I know I'm only a mortal, and one day someone or something is going to beat me," He smiled, "but I'll put up a good fight."

"You're quite right, one day someone is going to beat you. I just have," Viggo looked triumphantly at Hiccup and gestured to the board. "You're captured now. I've won."

Hiccup looked at the game board and then shrugged. "Well, good thing this isn't a metaphor for real life,"

"Oh, but it is, Hiccup," Viggo said coldly. He signaled at Ryker. Ryker came forward, pulled out his large blade, and stabbed his brother Draccus in the chest.

Hiccup jumped to his feet. Astrid screamed. Dagur and Hognose laughed. The rest of the men laughed too, but it was mixed with nervousness. Viggo calmly sipped his wine. Ryker then picked up the twitching corpse of his younger brother and threw it overboard.

"The traitor always dies," Viggo remarked, "good game, Hiccup,"

"He was your _brother_!" Astrid shouted.

"And he plotted against me," Viggo replied unconcernedly, "now, Hiccup, I won the game, and the stakes still stand. So for the last time: _give me the Dragon Eye_!"

"And if I do that, will we be allowed to go?" Hiccup growled as he picked up the chest.

"Yes, yes," Viggo said impatiently. Ryker raised a blade menacingly and pointed it at Hiccup.

"We're taking it, boy. You decide if we take it from your dead hands or not."

"Good point." Hiccup said with a sigh. "All right, Viggo, here you go."

First he stuck the key in the lock, and then he brought the chest over to Grimborn, who made no effort to conceal his hungry expression. Quickly Viggo turned the key and lifted the lid. And with a loud "Bi-gowk!" Chicken leapt out and began pecking his face!

Astrid at once threw herself over the side and into the sea. Hiccup was less lucky, because Hognose lunged at him and knocked him over.

"Gotcha!" he shouted, slashing at Hiccup's arms. Hiccup at once moved his wrist so his gauntlets took the blows, but the blows were so strong one gauntlet cracked. Green Zippleback gas wafted up from it and oil spilled onto the deck.

"Ha!" Hognose laughed, "Now it's useless, just like you've always been!"

With his metal leg Hiccup kicked him right in the crotch. The man's eyes bulged, his mouth made an 'O' shape, and he doubled over.

Hiccup could think of dozens of quips to make but instead used his other gauntlet to light the escape Zippleback gas on fire. It was a pathetic explosion, but startling enough to give him time to leap over the side.

While this was happening Chicken gave Viggo a bloody nose and put some nasty scratches on Ryker's hands as he tried to pull Chicken off his younger brother.

"Why you dirty little—I'll wring yer scrawny neck and have ya fer supper!" Ryker roared. Then Hiccup set off his explosion. Ryker broke his concentration and that was all that Chicken needed. With a last peck at Ryker's exposed scalp, Chicken flapped over the railing and into the ocean, landing directly on Hiccup's head.

"Nice job, Chicken. Tuffnut would be very proud," Hiccup said "but we're not out of this yet!"

"Buck bi-gowk!"

Toothless saw and heard the splashing. " **Blast 'em**!"

Every dragon opened fire. And Astrid's words were proven true: being surrounded by ships meant they could not miss.

In the water Astrid grabbed Hiccup's arm and pulled him with all her might. He helped her as best as he could, but the fact was he could not swim very well.

"Did you get the—"

"Already taken care of!" she tried to smile but water kept splashing in her face. "One vial of Changewing acid is burning holes in their ship as we speak,"

"Excellent. It's a bit hard to shoot at swimmers when your ship is sinking," he laughed, only to get a mouthful of sea water.

After three shots Meatlug looked at Toothless anxiously. " **I'm not doing much damage**!"

" **Me neither**!" Windshear growled. " **I've hit that hull three times in the same spot already**!"

Toothless thought a minute. He knew there were cages that were considered 'dragon-proof'; perhaps the hunters had built ships that way too? It was possible. But he reckoned cloth could not be built that way.

" **Target the sails**!" he shouted.

" **So they can't sail away from us**?" Hookfang exclaimed.

" **Target the upper parts and the rigging! Make the burning sails fall onto the decks!** "

The humans were not being idle either. After talking with Eret, Heather had stumbled upon the ships armory and they were now firing crossbows at any enemy who showed his head.

"Man, just give me enough arrows and I'll defend this ship until Raganarök—and all just for you, Heather," Snotlout said with a wink. Heather scowled at him.

Down below decks, Eret was still tied up and Ruffnut was still sitting next to him. "It sounds awesome, isn't it? All that destructive firepower! And it's even more awesomener when you see it!"

"I'm sure it is," Eret said, "I can see why Drago wanted an army of dragons,"

"Meh, what did he know?" Ruff said with a dismissive wave. "Old Drago Dudfist. He wasn't a match for us Disciples of Loki! And just wait, soon we'll take you back to Berk and you'll become a dragon rider and learn the proper way to be cool and we'll get married and find all those things the Dragon Eye's supposed to show—"

"Where is the Dragon Eye, anyway?"

"Over in Heather's bag," Ruff replied without thinking. The issue on her mind right now was why he had not reacted when she suggested marriage.

At that moment one hunter ship fired a catapult. It struck their ship in the side and threw everyone backwards. An axe dropped near Eret and nearly cut his foot off.

Quickly he turned around and began rubbing his bonds along the blade. Ruffnut had no idea, as she had rushed to the stairs and was looking out to see how the fight was going. "Hey, could you guys tone it down a bit out there? I'm trying to flirt!"

At that moment Eret grabbed her and threw her to the ground. He charged up the stairs as fast as he could go. Getting on deck he spotted Heather's bag and dove for it. Heather spun around and fired her crossbow, but the bolt only grazed his leg.

"Get him!" She shrieked. Snotlout darted for the hunter but Eret was like a charging bull, even with the leg wound. He slammed his fist into Snotlout's face and then, without any hesitation, leapt over the side of the ship and into the ocean.

"Kill him!" Heather roared at the dragons, "KILL HIM!"

Stormfly flung tail spines and would have hit Eret except the water resistance ruined their accuracy. Toothless leapt onto the side and aimed, but a projectile came straight for his head, and he only survived by moving. The hunter ships were increasing their fire, and now superior numbers was paying off. It turned out these hunters were well prepared for fires on ships, for they seemed to be having no trouble putting out the fires the dragons started.

"Um sir, the ship's leaking!"

"So it is," Viggo said with remarkable calmness. "Can it be fixed?"

"We're trying sir,"

"You might want to try _harder_ ," Viggo hinted icily. The hunter bowed and ran off. Dagur came over.

"Viggo, can't you stop like this listing? It's ruining my aim! I can't batter them to pulps with my lovely big boulders if the ship is tilting!"

"I share your concern, but do not worry, Dagur," Viggo replied, "Soon it will either be fixed or we'll board a ship that isn't sinking,"

"Wait a minute—we're sinking? We're sinking! Sinking! Augh! This is the end! The Doomflower has bloomed at last! Doom is in Bloom! Doom is in Bloom! We're all gonna—"

"Dagur!" Viggo shouted.

"Sorry, lost control of my mind for a second there. It's been known to happen."

"I hadn't noticed." Viggo said scornfully, "Now go back to your catapult and let me worry about the ship."

"Right. Oh—Viggo, you do realize that if we sink their ship we sink the Eye with them, right?"

"I'm impressed, Dagur. You actually said something sensible. But it is all under control." He believed the Riders would try to escape by flying, and they would then be caught with the nets. And if the Riders let the Eye go to the bottom of the sea, he would find a way to fish it up somehow. Movement caught his eye. "What is that?" he yelled, pointing to the water.

Ryker turned. "That looks like Eret! Where'd he come from?"

"Pull him on board and he'll tell us," Viggo replied. "And tell our people to increase their fire."

Tuffnut looked at a rope that ran over the side of the ship and saw it was being tugged on. He looked over the broken railing and saw Chicken sitting on someone's head. He grabbed his poultry friend and slammed his fist into the person below, thinking it was a hunter. He heard a loud shout and some scuffling on the side of the ship.

"TUFFNUT, I AM SO GONNA KILL YOU FOR THAT!" Astrid roared. She climbed her way onto the ship and pulled a half conscious Hiccup with her. "WHAT THE HEL WERE YOU THINKING, YOU STUPID MUTTONHEAD? YOU NEARLY BRAINED HICCUP!"

"I thought he was a hunter! What's Hiccup doing sneaking up on us like that?" Tuffnut shouted back, displaying more nerve than was wise. Astrid would have thrown him into the mast but instead she set Hiccup down and rushed over to find the others.

"Heather, report!"

"We're holding out but—!" Heather said.

At that moment a projectile hit the mast, splitting it in half. The upper part fell onto the deck and tumbled over the side into the ocean.

"Correction, we're doomed!" Fishlegs cried.

Toothless was over with Hiccup, who was still in a daze. "Whoa…what happened?"

" **Hiccup, we're running out of shots again and the ships falling apart. We're dead if we stay here. Let's take 'em from the air**!"

"My heads full of that right now," he replied with a loony smile.

Toothless vowed if Astrid did not kill Tuff for this, he would. And since Hiccup was clearly too incoherent to make the decision, Toothless made it for him. " **Everyone, get your riders on you! We'll attack from the sky**!"

Viggo was having trouble talking to Eret and looking at the ship he was attacking. "At last, they're taking off," he whispered, "take off and you're all mine!" Thankfully his men seemed to have stopped the leak, for the ship's list was not getting any worse.

And then a ferocious roar was heard, so powerful everyone threw their hands over their ears to no avail, and an enraged Thunderdrum burst onto the ocean surface.

"This day just keeps getting better, doesn't it?" Hiccup asked with a stupid smile.

Toothless grabbed him in his jaws, tossed him into the air, and moved so Hiccup landed on his back. It was a trick they had done before, but this time Hiccup landed less than gracefully.

The Thunderdrum did not care about who was fighting who. It had been patrolling its territory, saw the intruders, and furiously charged into action. It blasted the hunter ships with powerful sound waves and slashed at them with its spiked tail.

"Bring it in!" Viggo shouted, "Bring it in!" That would mean two prizes today if nothing else. Unfortunately, the Thunderdrum's attack had given the Dragon Riders the opening they needed to fly away. They were now hovering well out of range of the nets.

"Let's go in for an attack!" Heather shouted.

"Why bother?" Snotlout asked, "That Thunderdrum's doing the job for us!"

" **Then let's give him some help** ," Stormfly said, " **C'mon, Toothless, turn us loose on them**!"

" **What do you need my permission for? Blast them**!"

Some hunter ships were trying to bring down the Thunderdrum. Others were trying to get away. "Stand and fight!" Viggo roared. Then he saw the Riders diving on one of his ships and he repeated his orders. "Take them down!"

Eret grabbed his arm. "Viggo, we're all gonna die if we keep this up! We've gotta get out of here now!"

"What treason are you shouting now, Eret?" Viggo shouted. Then he saw what Eret was holding and his eyes widened.

"I've got what we came for, Viggo," Eret smiled, "I've got the Dragon Eye."

Viggo slowly took it and looked it over. A triumphant smile burst onto his face. It was quickly stifled by his usual calmness. "Ryker, give the order to pull out. But if possible, would you _please_ get rid of those Riders for me? That's a good brother—unlike the former one,"

But there appeared to be no need to obey the orders. The Thunderdrum let out another roar and it was one roar too many for the dragons. The sound hurt their ears so much it disoriented them. They all fell scattered and dazed into the ocean and their humans went with them. The Thunderdrum made for the ships but this time the hunters were ready. Arrow after arrow they fired at it, and each arrow had been coated in dragon root. It took nearly half a dozen shots, but the wild dragon at last collapsed into the sea, fast asleep. It was not easy hauling it in, for the creature as a big and heavy as a whale and the ships were all damaged, but Viggo felt very pleased. He had the Eye, two caught dragons, and his foes were either dead or about to be. It had been a good day.


	18. Chapter 18

**I Own Nothing**

 **All Rights Reserved**

 **I would really and sincerely like to thank the people who have constantly reviewed my story, especially LucyBC1900, TheFuriousNightFury, and Itban Fuyu. Without your encouragement I would have pulled the plug on this several months ago.**

 **Now to respond to the Guest who posted this review, which I will copy verbatim:**

"First of all, how dare you not have finished this story?  
Secondly, absolutely amazing story, keep up the good work!  
Thirdly, are we expecting a third part to the Saga? (Pleasesayyespleasesayyespleasesayyes)" [sic]

 **For the first point, I don't exactly know what you expect of me. I'm writing this story as fast as I can, but writing two 400+ page stories within 2 years is not exactly easy, and I do have other things I like to do. At the moment I estimate there are some 7-9 chapters left to write.**

 **For the second point, thank you very much for your encouragement!**

 **As for the third point, I have given some thought to a third story and decided against writing one, for numerous reasons. Some are personal or go into spoiler territory, but a few deciding factors are:**

 **1.** **I still don't have a clue of what it would be about, and I would rather stop this series before things go downhill with recycled plotlines and half-baked decisions. I don't want an equivalent to Godfather Part 3.**

 **2.** **As just pointed out, these big stories are really time-consuming to plot out and write. Sooner or later I doubt I'll have much time for Fanfiction and I don't want to start a sequel I may never finish. That would not be fair to anybody.**

 **Chapter 18**

 **Where to Go?**

There was just one problem, and Viggo realized it when he was looking over the Dragon Eye.

"Where are the lenses?"

"The what?" Dagur asked. He had not been listening.

"The lenses! The pieces of glass that contain the actual information! Where are they? Eret! Where'd he go? Dagur, fetch him at once!" Viggo turned away, his mind racing furiously. Without the lenses the Dragon Eye was useless to him and he knew it.

Eret was pulled over by Dagur and Viggo chillingly repeated his question. "Oh, by Gods, I'm sorry Viggo, I clean forgot!" he reached into Heather's bag and pulled out the wad of paper. "I think this is the map to the last lens."

"And where are the others?" Viggo demanded as he grabbed the paper. It was soaking wet but legible enough. "Adoncia said there are 25 of them! What happened to the other 24?"

"I…don't know,"

"The Defenders would know," Ryker said. "And so might those Riders. They probably hid them somewhere."

Viggo turned away, deep in thought. Then he brightened up and everyone around him breathed again. "This will work to our advantage! If any Riders and Defenders are still alive, they'll be coming after us now. We only need to catch one and we'll be able to name our own terms—and this time they'll adhere to them! We'll get the other lenses soon."

"How about we go and catch them now?" Ryker asked eagerly.

"A few of us will," Viggo replied. "Those riders and dragons must be in weak conditions. Send five ships to search the area for them. But I want everyone captured for the moment. No killing yet."

"Why not?" Demanded Hognose. "I wanna kill somethin'!"

"Because, fool, we will need the dragons to use on the Dragon Eye once we get the lenses, and I want the humans alive so they can give us those lenses." And if nothing else, having the heir of Berk and his friends as hostages to be ransomed would bring in a large fortune. Most people, unfortunately, refused to pay for dead hostages.

"But sir, perhaps we should—"

"Are you questioning me, Eret?" Viggo asked dangerously.

"No sir," Eret replied with a gulp.

"Good," Viggo replied, "Ryker, see to the details. I'll be in my cabin."

Eret watched him leave and all at once he felt a strange twinge of guilt. Hiccup and the other Riders might have been on the other side, yet they had saved his life several times that day, and he had repaid them by practically stabbing them in the back. Sure, that Defender girl had been rough on him, but he could understand why. And yes, that Twin had been downright creepy and he could _not_ understand why, but even so…for some reason he wished he had not cut his bonds.

Dagur was also deep in thought. During the fighting he had spotted a woman at Hiccup's side, and he could not shake off a strange feeling that she looked familiar.

"Eret?"

"Hmm?"

"That black haired woman—the one who fought like a Berserker—what was her name?"

"Heather, I think. Something like that. Why?"

"Oh, just trying to figure out who my enemies are," Dagur replied casually.

"Me too," Eret said quietly, "me too,"

Hiccup felt water splash against his face as he made for Toothless as best as he could. An ordinary human could have covered the distance in a few minutes, but he took nearly four times that long and Toothless had to meet him part way. " **I've gotta devise a way to swim better, Bud** ,"

" **So you're back with us now**?" Toothless asked, " **Your mind's working right again?** "

" **As right as it ever works** ," Hiccup cracked, " **where're the others**?"

" **I don't know. The nearest land is that volcano** ,"

" **Is it stable? Good enough, I guess. All right, summon the others with your mind and let's head other there** ,"

Toothless nodded and sent the call of the Beta. Any dragon belonging to his nest and within range had to respond to it and come to him. He disliked using it normally, as it reminded him of what the Red Death used to do, but this was an emergency.

As it turned out, Barf n' Belch and the Twins had already reached the volcano, which was still smoking and trembling but otherwise seemed to have settled down for the moment. Astrid was riding on Meatlug and looking around for the others. Stormfly was coming from the south and was helping Hookfang along. The Nightmare's skin had taken on a gray hue now, and he looked sick. Heather and Fishlegs flew in on Windshear. Snotlout had landed nearest the volcano out of all of them, and was had just a few meters left to swim when Toothless landed.

"Whew!" Snotlout was tired but exhilarated, "I'll betcha nobody's ever swum like the Snotmaster today!" he grinned at Heather and Astrid. "Well, don't hold your applause or anything. It's not like Hiccup could've—Hookfang, what happened?" Forgetting his swimming achievement, he rushed over to his sick dragon. "Hookfang, c'mon pal, look at me! C'mon, pal, you're too tough to be beaten by a little water!"

" **How are you feeling**?" Stormfly asked anxiously.

" **I fear this is the end for me, my friends** " Hookfang said dramatically.

" **Oh cut the theatrics and tell the truth**!" Toothless growled, hiding his worry.

" **Fine, I feel miserable, happy**?" the Nightmare spat, and then shivered. " **Oh fireballs, why is everything so cold?** "

Stormfly at once began breathing fire on him. Meatlug followed suit. Hookfang's expression went from severe discomfort to one who had just stepped into a hot bath, and his scales took on a bit brighter hue. " **Ahh. You guys should do this to me more often! And you know this ground is pretty warm too**!" Abruptly he began dry retching, then just as abruptly it stopped.

"Hiccup, what are they saying? Is he going to be all right?" Snotlout asked anxiously.

Hiccup put a hand on Snotlout's shoulder reassuringly. "He'll probably feel sick for a few days, but I think they've stopped the worst of it before it could take hold."

"You _think_?" Snotlout cried.

"I can't really make promises when healing is involved,"

Snotlout nodded and said hoarsely "He's all I've got, you know?"

"Hey, you've got us, right?"

Snotlout suddenly turned away from him. "Right, well, of course, I knew he'd be fine. I was just showing concern to make him feel loved. C'mon, let's go see what the others are doing."

The others were having an argument and Heather was leading it.

"Is everybody all right?" Hiccup asked loudly over the noise.

"Of course not!" Heather shouted, "The Queen's Thor knows where and probably dying, the rest of my tribe is probably dead, and those hunters, after beating us silly, now have the Eye, the map to the last lens, and two dragons! Everybody is _not_ all right!"

"And will anger get us out of this mess?" Hiccup demanded.

"It's about as likely to as _you_ are! You're supposed to be in charge! It was your plan and your plan failed miserably! And you!" she pointed to Ruffnut, "If you had actually helped us instead of flirting all day with that hunter he might not have gotten away!"

"Is that what happened?" Hiccup asked Astrid, who nodded sharply.

"Hey, I didn't let him escape!" Ruff exclaimed. "He attacked me from behind!"

"He wouldn't have if you had been paying attention!" Heather snarled.

"Heather…" Fishlegs said cautiously.

"Shut up!" she snapped. "You didn't do any better!"

Fishlegs was torn about how to answer but Hiccup cut in angrily. "What was he supposed to do?"

"He could've helped! Just like Astrid could've helped, but no, she just had to go with _you_ and leave me with all the useless people! She would've been a lot more use to me if she'd—"

"I'm not useless!" Snotlout shouted, folding his arms, "That's Hiccup!"

"That's enough," Astrid said, arms folded.

"If you guys had just taken better care my tribe might not be—" tears suddenly came to Heather's eyes and her voice trembled.

"Heather, that's enough," Astrid repeated.

"If I had just stayed with Mala, I could've—"

Astrid grabbed her by the shoulders. "Heather, that's enough! Blaming everyone, especially yourself, isn't going to help us now!"

"And what _is_ going to help us?" Heather shrieked, "We've lost everything!"

"Hey, we're all still alive, aren't we?" Ruffnut said.

"Alive and dangerous!" Tuffnut boasted. "Let's get 'em! We'll send every last ship to Valhalla!"

Hiccup held up his hands. "Guys! Could we all just stop talking for a minute?"

Everyone was silent, except for Heather's sniffing.

Hiccup took a deep breath and ran a hand through his wet hair. "Fishlegs will take Astrid and go back to where you guys left Mala. Heather, the Twins, and I will fly around and seek out any Defenders…and any ships that might be coming after us."

"What about me?" Snotlout demanded.

"Hookfang's in no shape to go anywhere, so unless you can fly yourself…"

"And what about those ships out over there?" Snotlout demanded. "They're getting away!"

"A few hours head start won't help them too much," Hiccup replied grimly. "And we'll have a better chance with a night attack, anyway, if it comes to that. We'll meet back here when sundown's beginning, all right?"

The five ships Viggo sent out to search were moving exasperatingly slow, due to damage and a lack of crew members. The Thunderdrum attack had resulted in a number of deaths. They had arranged to split up but it took a while to actually enact upon it. Meantime, the hunters on board could see the dragons flying in the air, but knew there was little they could do about it at the moment. Without Viggo's firm hand around, in fact, some of the hunters began to get nervous. After all, even if they had won the fight, the fact remained they had not, to their knowledge, killed any Riders, even though they considerably outnumbered them. Some perceived and suggested that those Riders had divine protection on their side. Others laughed and blew off the suggestions, but did not feel any better.

One ship at length made its way around to a group of small islands on the north. The passages between islands grew narrow and shallow, and the ship was compelled to sail even slower than before.

The captain de facto of the ship decided once they reached the open sea they would head back. It was the last decision he ever made. A barrage of arrows came out of nowhere and one struck him in the head. Nobody on deck or rushing up onto deck was any luckier. And from behind the rocks of one island emerged a group of Defenders of the Wing.

"Well done, lads. The ship is ours."

"Stupid hunters," one laughed.

"We got lucky," another said, "if they hadn't come this way we'd be marooned here."

"Yes indeed," said a tall man with short stubbly hair, "but they did come this way and now we've got the ship, so let's get going."

"Where are we taking it, Throk?" another asked.

"Where do you think? We saw that four winged Dragon fly off with the Queen on its back—we're going after it."

"But we'll never catch it! It's a dragon!"

"So stop complaining and let's get underway already!" Throk said impatiently, "It made for the north east, and yes, it's a dragon, but it'll have to stop and rest sooner or later!" The odds were poor and he knew it, but he was determined to get to his Queen and he would take any odds he could get.

"What about the Hunters?"

"Yeah, and is the Eye safe?"

"What about the Dragon King and his people?"

"I saw one of them fly near the vessel when the hunters were still on it."

"If they come by again we'll try to contact them and work something out." Throk said firmly. "But as for the Eye, we will have to trust the Dragon King to take care of it for now."

"Trust _him_? How can we trust him when he got us into this mess in the first place?"

"Are you so sure it's his fault?" another asked, "We haven't exactly done any stellar work today,"

"Maybe if he had just—"

"We can debate it later!" Throk yelled. "I don't know everything that has happened, but our Queen was willing to trust him, and if anyone here doubts the Queen they are not coming with us." He looked around but nobody showed the slightest sign they doubted their monarch. "Good. Now, I want this ship to go the fastest she's ever gone—get moving!"

"You know she'll probably yell at us for not retrieving the Eye, right?"

Throk shuddered. "If the Dragon King justifies my faith, we won't need to worry about the Eye. And the Queen's life is more important to me than the Eye right now. The Eye can be recovered; a lost life can't."

As he looked around the sea, Hiccup felt like all the great warlords he had read about. Not because he was one himself, but because he felt as if he was trying to coordinate a multipronged invasion while having no idea what the other prongs were doing. Ultimately, whatever he decided on would have to be done in the blind hope that the others involved in this would be able to look after themselves.

He looked up at the sky. Sunset was approaching. They could not afford to lose track of those hunter ships now, nor could they risk staying around a volcano much longer, in case it grew active again.

" **Toothless, will Hookfang be able to fly now**?"

" **You'll have to ask him about it, but I think so. Provided there's minimal excitement, that is** ,"

" **Good. Let's head back**."

They were the first to return, but the others were not far behind. Nobody had found a thing except for the hunter ships, which they had easily avoided.

The first thing said came from Heather. "I went to the place where we left Queen Mala, and she was gone!"

"We did too. Meatlug says she smelled traces of a Stormcutter," Fishlegs added quickly.

Hiccup put his hand over his mouth, thinking deeply and trying to piece together what might have happened. A Stormcutter's traces strongly suggested that his mother and Cloudjumper had found Mala, but what could she have done with her?

"Hiccup," Heather said urgently, "I'm guessing the Stormcutter was Cloudjumper. Do you think there is any chance your mother would have killed Queen Mala?"

"From what I know of her, I can't imagine why she would do that." He paced back and forth for a few minutes. "Do you want to be absolutely sure of what's happened to her, Heather? If yes, I'm sure Stormfly could track them down,"

Astrid tensed up. If Stormfly went somewhere that meant she would be going too, which meant leaving the group. She would do it if told to, but she hated the idea.

Heather took a deep breath. "If I found her alive now she'd scream at me for not going after the Eye first and tell me to not come back until I had it."

"Then I don't think there's anything better we can do than go after it." Hiccup said at last. "Thoughts?"

"We can't go back to Berk like this," Fishlegs said. "The Chief would be furious once the truth came out."

"And it would be dishonorable leaving the mission in such a state," Astrid added.

"And Queen Mala always said what matters most is the Eye," Heather said, "So I say we go after it."

"The Chicken approves."

"And if it means finding the adorable Eret again—"

"All right, let's suit up," Hiccup interrupted. Some of the others rolled their eyes at Ruffnut's words.

"Hey, aren't you guys gonna ask me what I think?" Snotlout demanded.

"Well?"

"I…I think we should go after the Eye,"

" **What do you guys think**?" Hiccup asked the dragons.

" **Get the Eye** ," they all said together.

" **I thought so.** "

"Everyone?" Heather said nervously, "I—I'm sorry about my outburst earlier. I did—I didn't mean what I said…"

The others all waved their hands to say it was no big deal.

"I think I speak for everyone when I say I accept the apology, Heather." Hiccup said, "Now you said Viggo has the Eye and a map. What map?"

"The map to the last Dragon Eye lens," she answered.

"And just how did he get a hold of this map?" Astrid asked sharply.

"It was in my bag, with the Dragon Eye. I had nowhere else to put it and I didn't want it on me in case I got captured in the fight," She glared at Ruffnut, "I didn't expect Eret would get loose so easily,"

"That wasn't my fault!"

Thankfully, the other 24 had been redistributed amongst them before Hiccup and Astrid had swung over to Viggo's ship. They had also used that time to remove the Dragon Eye from its chest and poke some air holes in the chest so Chicken could breathe.

Hiccup cut in before an argument broke out. "Blaming won't change this situation so think: that Eye won't work without a lens, right? So their next logical move is to find the lens whose location they know. Do you have any idea where this map leads? If we know where the Hunters might be going, we can get there first."

Heather tried to picture the map but failed. "I don't know. I never had a chance to study it in detail—except—wait a minute—wait a minute—before we left, I remember hearing Mala mentioning something about an…an altar."

Fishlegs frowned. "An altar?"

"An altar—and a jib. Yeah, that's right. Except the jib came first. So, a jib and an altar," she looked at Hiccup hopefully. "She said something about sailing through it, I think,"

"Jib's altar?" Tuffnut repeated, "Who's jib and why does he have an altar—and Hiccup, why are you laughing?"

"It's not Jib's altar—it's Gibraltar!" Hiccup laughed, "The strait between Europe and Africa! The gateway of the Mediterranean! And there's only one way to reach Gibraltar from here by ship!" His face suddenly fell. "Of course, that sea's probably twice as large as all of Scandinavia. Searching the whole area for a bit of glass would be practically impossible..."

"Well, those ships are still out there, aren't they?" Snotlout said, "Let's just fly after them and retake what they took!"

"With a sick Hookfang?" Fishlegs asked.

"You let me worry about Hookfang." Snotlout said firmly.

Hiccup looked up at the sky again. " **Hookfang, are you up for a flight**?"

Hookfang yawned. " **Oh, I dunno, I think I need to sleep for a few—OUCH! Argg—all right, I'm up for it—no thanks to Windshear and that pointy tail of hers**!" he growled.

" **You'll thank me later** ," she said sweetly.

Viggo was looking over the maps in his cabin when someone knocked. "Yes?" he said without even looking up.

Ryker entered. "Four of our scout ships have been sighted following us. They won't catch up with us at this rate."

"Signal to them and tell them to head for the nearest port for refitting, then wait at Grimmage Festung for our return," Viggo replied. "What of the fifth?"

"Nothing yet. The other four ships all agree they saw those Riders, but never got close enough for anything to happen," Ryker looked at the map on the desk. "Is this our destination?"

"No. You're looking at a map of Berk."

"Speaking of Berk…Viggo, wouldn't it be better if we turned around and attacked those Berk kids now, while we've got the strength? We just about had them earlier; we could finish them off with one more push!"

"As I told you before, no." Viggo said. He saw no need to explain his decision. "Tell the men to stay alert and be ready for a fight at any moment."

"I trust you know what you're doing," Ryker growled.

"Of course I do," Viggo replied smoothly.

"Mind lettin' me in on the secret for once? Because I don't think it's safe, letting those Riders live,"

Viggo sighed. "Fine. They most likely have the other lenses or they know where to find them. And we will not get the location of those lenses out of them if they are dead. Can you comprehend that, or do I need to use smaller words?"

"No, no,"

"In other words, Ryker, this is the same situation it was a few days ago, only instead of them bringing the Eye to us, they are going to bring the lenses to us. They will come, sooner or later. They have to or else surrender the Eye to us. And to save time, we're going to get the last piece ourselves now. They know this and they will have to act. So why waste our energy chasing them when we know they will come to us?"

"Well…yes…but I still think it would be safer to—"

"You are not here to think," Viggo said coldly. "You're here to carry out my orders. They are perfectly clear, so do your job."

Ryker slid out of the cabin. Viggo went back to his maps. Ryker came back a minute later. Viggo made an annoyed sound in his throat. Ryker tried to look unworried. "Sorry. Night's coming and the helmsman wants to know if there's any change in the course to be made before it gets too dark."

Viggo kept his temper. "Tell him to steer us south to the coast of France. We'll follow the coastline of the continent westwards for now."

"All right. Where are we going, if you don't mind my asking?"

"I do,"

Ryker got the hint and left.

Stoick was pacing his house and fuming. Hiccup and the others should have been back by now. He had sent out the 'A' Team for a quick search, had even joined them in the afternoon, but so far they had found nothing. He knew he should have faith in Hiccup, but this waiting and anxiety was getting to be too much for him.

"Ya know, Skullcrusher, maybe it's a good thing I only have one son. I don't see how I could've coped if I'd had more!" The sudden idea of having five boys who were all just like Hiccup was a scary one. "And yet with five Hiccups…well, it doesn't matter, 'coz I've only got one and if he keeps me waiting much longer I—say, what's going on out there?" He looked out the window and could see a large crowd gathering in the center of the village. "Are they back?" He excitedly rushed for the door and down to the Plaza.

The very first person Valka saw when she reached Berk was Mildew, who looked up and promptly dropped the cabbage he was holding. "Sum-buddy kill me a dragon," he gasped.

Valka was just as incredulous as he was. "Oh, _you're_ still alive?" she groaned. "Never mind that now, I need help!" she shouted to anyone nearby, "I've got an injured person here!" Mala was miraculously still alive, but could not last much longer.

She saw some faces she had not seen in over 20 years. Most of these ones looked at her as if she was Freya herself. She also saw faces she had never seen before, and they mostly looked confused and concerned. Thankfully, someone had the presence of mind to get Gothi and others helped get Mala to the ground. When the old healer came hobbling over she showed no surprise at seeing Valka. Even after all this time Valka felt a little jittery around that woman.

Then she saw Gobber come limping over to investigate the crowd. When he saw her he dropped the hammer he was holding and his mouth fell opened so fast that a fake tooth fell out of it. She had never seen his eyes so wide. "Beard…of…Thor…"

And then she heard the voice of the man she was most eager and terrified to see again. "What's going on here? Move aside, let me through! What's happened—" Stoick pushed his way, as he often did, through the crowd and his heart nearly stopped beating.

How would any man react, if he saw before him the wife he believed to be dead for over two decades and standing behind her the creature he believed had killed her? He just looked at her, his eyes wide and his mouth slightly opened.

"Hello, Stoick," Valka said quietly. It was a pretty pathetic greeting after such a separation, but she was just as uncertain as he was about what to do now. "I—I know what you're gonna…gonna say, I know you'll be asking 'why' now, and I know you have every…every right to be angry with me, but I…I've gotta ask you to save it for another time…our son—I mean _Hiccup_ , Hiccup's in trouble and he needs our help…"

Stoick slowly began approaching her, but otherwise did not react to what she was saying. So she tried to go on. "Look, Hiccup and his friends are in trouble—I tried to do what I could but it was only me and Cloudjumper and I had an injured woman to look after—I—I didn't know where else to turn and—oh for crying out loud, Stoick, will you stop looking at me so…so stoically? _Say_ something, anything!"

Stoick had dreamt of this moment many times over the years, though the setting had always been Valhalla, not Berk. In those dreams they had always run to each other, embraced and kissed. But here, such acts just did not feel right.

Finally all he could do was say "What was that about Hiccup being in trouble?"

Nearly an hour later they were in Gothi's hut. Gobber, Greta Hofferson, Mr. Ingerman, and the sailor Seaslug were gathered around Stoick, all of them listening to Valka's story. Stoick would have preferred to talk like this in his own house, _their_ house, but he also wanted to talk with Mala, if he could, and she needed Gothi's constant attention. Cloudjumper had to wait outside because he could not fit in the hut.

"And this was two days ago?" Greta asked anxiously. Valka nodded.

"Gothi's writin' it's an act of Odin Mala survived so long," Gobber translated, "Hey, I got threw that wit-out messin' up!"

Stoick put his hands to his head, trying to think. "Val, were they actually _captured_? Hiccup has let himself get caught before; this might have been one of those times. If it is, we might mess up whatever he's planning by going after him." Of course he wanted to go after Hiccup at once, but he had to be certain about the situation first. He was doing his utmost to act and speak rationally for the moment. It was just crazy to think he was talking to his wife again, but he was also alarmed by her news and knew he had to put his personal feelings aside for now and try to act as if she had only been gone a few days, not over 20 years.

"All I saw was their ship got surrounded and he and Astrid swung over to an enemy ship. That's when I left to get help," Valka answered nervously. "Whatever has happened since, I don't know."

"Well they would have returned by now if they were fine. So where would they be, assuming they were captured?" Ingerman asked.

Mala suddenly made a grunting sound in her throat. All heads turned towards her. The Queen, who was lying on her front, was trying to get up. Gothi tried to push her back down, but Mala shook her head and rasped "Hunters…after Eye…stole last map,"

"What?" Stoick went over to her, "take a deep breath Mala…what is it?"

"Trait-tor…stole last map…likely gone after it…"

"Who has?" Greta Hofferson said, but Stoick ignored her. An idea was forming in his head.

"Mala, where does this map go?"

"Tab...er…nas desert. Tabernas Desert! Spai—" Mala coughed and panted, "Last piece...hunters want…find it, find them,"

Gothi stepped in now and gave Mala some herbs. The others turned away to talk.

"Tabernas Desert," Seaslug said, "I've never heard of it before,"

"'Iccup would know where to look," Gobber remarked sadly, "'e always 'ad an 'ead fer maps,"

"And I wager he's got it on some map in his room." Stoick smiled.

"So," Ingerman said, "let me see if I've got this right. There's something in this desert these hunters want, yes? And we think these hunters have my son and his friends for prisoners, yes? Well, since we know where they're heading, tell the 'A' Team to suit up at once and let's get going!"

"Send the word out to the 'A' Team." Stoick ordered, "Gobber, you're going to be in charge while we're gone,"

"'While _we're_ gone?'" Gobber repeated.

"That's my son out there! My son and the future of Berk! Do you think I'm going to sit around and wait for something good to happen? Maybe they're not prisoners, maybe they are because they planned it so, or whatever else, they're not here on Berk and this adventure's gone on long enough. We're rescuing them and bringing them home!" Stoick said, slamming his massive fist onto a table. Everyone nodded determinedly.

There were just one little flaw with this plan. Unbeknownst to any of them, the Dragon Riders were not in need of rescuing and they were nowhere near the Tabernas Desert. In fact, they were at that moment in the seaside port of Calais, and if they got their way they would be heading back home within the hour.

The hunter ships were in the harbor. The Riders had shadowed them for several days, but the ships had moved so slowly everyone's patience had quickly been exhausted. They had agreed unanimously that to continue with this would play to the hunter's advantage, and it would be better to go on the offensive. On top of that, Calais happened to be one of the few ports around where dragon trading was permitted. There was a good chance the Eruptodon and Thunderdrum would be killed and cut up here. If they wanted to save them they would have to act at once. After watching the ships for so many days and nights, they knew which ships housed the dragons and which one Viggo stayed on. The gamble was that Viggo would not let the Eye or map out of his sight, so where he was, there they would find what they wanted.

Astrid moved about the docks alone. Casually she slipped behind a stack of cargo belonging to another ship. She pulled out a vial of Naga-Raja acid from her belt, one of several, climbed off the dock and started swimming.

Hiccup checked the moon. It was almost full, but that could not be helped. He counted to four and the dragons and their riders took off.

Toothless dove in first, aiming for the net launchers on the nearest Hunter ship. Hookfang dove in after another, as did Barf n' Belch and Stormfly. This was all to confuse the hunters and draw attention from the main target: Viggo's ship. Meatlug and Windshear made for this one, Meatlug going after the net launchers, while Windshear got up close around the cabin. Using her tail she sliced through the planks in a straight line. As soon as they were ready, Windshear roared for help, which Meatlug and Stormfly came to give.

" **That stuff wasn't easy to cut through**!" Windshear commented to the others as they took a side of the cabin, " **Must've been reinforced to protect Viggo**!"

" **But they didn't count on a Razorwhip's tail, I imagine**!" Meatlug replied, " **All right—pull**!"

And pull they did, ignoring the cries and reactions of the astonished hunters. Windshear had sliced all around the cabin and now the dragons lifted the roof and part of the walls into the air and dropped it into the sea. That was the cue for Toothless and Hiccup to speed right into what used to be a cabin, but was now only a square shaped wall two feet high. And there was nobody in it.

Hiccup looked around quickly. What had happened? They had seen Viggo go in shortly before the attack began and nobody had come out. So where was he? More importantly, where were the map and the Eye? He spotted a book and pile of parchment, so he dismounted, rushed over, and grabbed everything he could get his hands on.

" **Hurry up**!" Toothless shouted, " **They're coming**!"

"Be right with you!" An arrow was fired and nearly got him in the hand. "Hey! I wasn't talking to you!" Another arrow was fired and hit his good gauntlet, puncturing a hole in it. "Oh come on, _both_ of them? Do you guys have any idea how long it took to perfect this design?"

" **Can we save the retorts for later**?" Toothless shouted as he spat plasma at the attackers.

A new sound reached their ears: a church bell. The attack had been seen, and the authorities of Calais would be coming. They were out of time.

Hiccup looked around quickly again. Maybe Viggo was hiding somewhere. Maybe there was a trapdoor somewhere. But Windshear yelled at him to get moving or else they risked a fight with the authorities. Dodging a new string of arrows, Hiccup gathered up what he had taken and leapt onto Toothless. The Night Fury leapt off the ship into the sky and out to sea.

Astrid, meanwhile, had swum to one ship and emptied the vial in a circle shape above the water line. From there she heaved herself inside, and landed in a rat nest.

"Ugh!" she muttered as the rats darted away squeaking. She moved quickly down the corridor, her axe unstrapped and at the ready. There were two guards present. The rest were probably on deck fending off the attack, which she could hear very faintly. She said a quick prayer to Tyr and her father, and charged.

The first guard went out like a torch when she struck him. The second, however, recovered from the surprise and backed away, a sword out and a wicked grin on his face. Astrid abruptly sat down and looked at him benignly. Confused, the man approached her, feinting at times with his blade. Astrid did nothing. So he got closer, thinking she must have surrendered and intending to tie her up. And when he got too close, Astrid sprang to her feet and punched him squarely under the chin. With that she slammed her elbow into his gut and brought her axe down so the flat side struck his head.

"Shield Maidens don't surrender," she smugly told him as he collapsed, "but I wouldn't expect some dragon hunter to know that,"

She searched the bodies but found no keys on them. Most likely Viggo had ordered the keys put elsewhere, as a precaution. No matter, they had a precaution against the precaution.

The dragons were clearly visible behind the bars of their cages. Both were muzzled and chained to the wall. She was disgusted by the sight. " **It's all right guys; I'm getting you out of here**!" She pulled out more of the Naga-Raja acid vials and quickly poured some on the bars of the cages, and then onto the chains.

" **Phew**!" the Eruptodon gagged, " **What a relief! That thing was sticking down my throat**!"

" **Sea devils, every last one of them**!" the Thunderdrum scowled, " **I have met more courteous and considerate sharks! Now, how does this mermaid with legs here know our tongue?"**

" **How about I explain when we're out of here**?" Astrid suggested.

" **Good idea** ," said the Eruptodon. They all froze when they heard movement coming from upstairs.

" **They must know something's up. Quick—Thunderdrum—** "

" **Mermaid with legs, my name is Deafpool**!"

" **And I'm Astrid—Deafpool, can you blast a hole through the wall there?"**

" **Can I blast a hole through a wall? Can a cuttlefish swim**?" the Thunderdrum asked proudly. He reared himself up, Astrid and the Eruptodon covered their ears, and he roared at the wall. The wood slowly began to crack. " **Odd, I thought it would fall to pieces** ,"

" **You've weakened it** ," the Eruptodon replied, " **Do it again—and hurry**!" Guards were coming. Astrid readied her axe but the dragon put his tail in front of her and said confidently " **I'll handle this! Come on, you bunch of granite headed cutthroats! Eat my lava**!" he spat. The lava went flying and the hunters backed away as quickly as they had come. The floor began to disintegrate and water started seeping in. " **Huh. Maybe I should have tried the wall** ,"

" **No need** ," the Thunderdrum roared, for on his second try the hull cracked completely. Water began pouring in at the base of the hole. The ship began to tilt. The Eruptodon rammed itself headlong into the hull and tasted fresh air. " **Come on**!"

The Thunderdrum looked at Astrid disdainfully. " **While I do not relish the prospect of carrying merpeople with legs, you freed me and a Thunderdrum always repays a debt! Get on my back and hold on**!" Given Astrid's ears were bleeding she did not understand a thing he said. Still, she got the gist of it and they burst through the hole—only to run into a net that had been lowered over it.

"Gotcha!" hunters on deck were shouting gleefully, forgetting that the boat was still sinking.

" **No, no, no! This is implausible**!" Deafpool roared as he thrashed about. The net held despite the noise.

Astrid fumbled around and grabbed her last vial. "Please let this work, please let this work," she thought. She climbed over Deafpool's head and emptied the acid on part of the net. Deafpool got the plan and roared as loud as he possibly could. This, coupled with the Eruptodon carefully spitting lava at it, was more than any net could handle. It split and in an instant the two dragons were flying away with Astrid.

"I just hope the others are safe,"

Back at their hiding place, in the woods a few miles from Calais, the others were safe and in pretty foul moods. Hiccup was pacing back and forth, anxiously looking up at the sky several times a minute, and then glaring at the ground, "If I had just had a few more minutes!" This was indeed a source of annoyance for him, but it was really just a cover for his real concern: Astrid. He had no doubts she could take care of herself, but he was still worried about her being in a dangerous situation and likely would never cease to get worried.

" **Take it easy**!" Hookfang said sharply, " **Next time** —"

" **And what guarantees do we have that there will be a next time**?" Toothless snapped.

"Well why didn't you let us take a hostage or something? Someone we could interrogate? And it's your own fault you didn't have more time! You could've let us take on those soldiers!" Snotlout said accusingly.

"We agreed to not hurt the innocent!" Heather said scathingly, "Those men were just coming to protect their city! They had nothing to do with our situation!"

"We should've tried it before we got here," Ruffnut complained loudly. They all knew that, but they had only come up with the plan that very day.

"And as for hostages and interrogations, what makes you think anyone besides Viggo and maybe Ryker knows where they're sailing?" Hiccup added, "Good grief, Snotlout, use your brains! Viggo wouldn't tell anything important to his grunts! He'd just say 'sail south until I tell you otherwise!'"

"After what happened to the Defenders, I can't entirely blame him," Heather remarked sadly. "If we hadn't trusted Serene—I mean Adoncia—so much, a lot of this wouldn't have happened. But Mala was— _is_ —I mean, the Defenders are taught to believe in the honor of fellowship. After all, who can you trust if not your own people?"

"Will you guys stop shouting so I can focus?" Fishlegs yelled. He was going through the pile of parchment Hiccup had brought back. Meatlug's mouth was opened and the fire in her throat was glowing so he could read.

" **There they are**!" Windshear cried. Astrid and the two dragons had found them and came in for a landing. Hiccup at once rushed over to her and hugged Astrid, asking repeatedly if she was all right. She did not answer, nor react to his questions, though she did hug him back tightly.

"HAVE WE GOT ANY BANDAGES?" She shouted.

"Yes but—good gosh, what happened to your ears?" Hiccup cried.

"WHAT?"

"Oh—of course. I mean—JUST A MINUTE!"

" **My apologies, merman with legs** ," the Thunderdrum said, " **But it was the only possible way to carve a passage out of that beastly place** ,"

" **Too many words for me** ," the Eruptodon whispered to Meatlug.

" **Well, we got you two freed. Tonight wasn't an entire waste of time then** ," Toothless said, hoping to lift everyone's spirits. He declined to activate his mind powers and intentionally avoided eye contact as he introduced everyone.

Despite the pain in her ears and her deafness, Astrid was feeling quite satisfied. Hiccup derived great relief in seeing that as he helped clean the wounds and bandage them. He knew virtually nothing about ear injuries, so he could only pray they would heal quickly and leave no permanent damage.

"SO DID YOU GET IT?"

"NO!" Hiccup shouted, and this time he had no trouble remembering to raise his voice. He kicked a rock. "THEY WERE EXPECTING US!"

Back on the command ship, underneath Viggo's bed a trapdoor opened and Viggo climbed out of it. The Dragon Eye and the map were tied firmly to his belt. He looked around in amusement at what was left of his cabin. "Remarkable. I only expected them to break the door down, but this…I'm impressed." He saw Ryker approaching. "Well?"

"They got the dragons—despite the net."

A flash of anger appeared on Viggo's face but he quickly controlled himself. "No matter. We still have the Eye and the map, and with those we will get more dragons."

"It's a good thing you had that trapdoor installed," Ryker remarked, "You couldn't have had much warning,"

Viggo smiled, but in truth he had only just missed being seen closing the trapdoor. Had the Riders moved just a little faster they would have caught him. He would have to install another trapdoor in his hiding place so he could escape from it. Of course, first he would need a proper cabin.

"So…what now?" Ryker asked. "All of our ships are damaged, and at least two aren't seaworthy now. It'll take weeks at best to repair them."

"Then we shall abandon those two ships and sail out tomorrow night," Viggo replied calmly. "No one rests until the repairs are finished." Looking out at his ship he could see Dagur screaming at crew members and throwing them overboard. "Tell Dagur to stop that. We're going to need every man we have to make repairs." He dismissed Ryker and turned to the desk to collect his possessions. "A pity we did not catch anyone. But no matter, they can only avoid capture for so long. They will try again. Ah. So he took the parchment pile. Good. I do hope he enjoys reading."

"This is a waste of time!" Fishlegs exclaimed in frustration. "Everything on here is just a bunch of nonsense! Look at this one! The whole page is made up of the sentence: 'John has a short mustache!'"

"This map has directions on it!" Snotlout cried excitedly, "It's a number code—let's see—Ah ha! It spells Atlantis!"

Hiccup frowned. "A map to Atlantis,"

"Yeah! That must be where they're going! Oh, they thought they could outwit old Snotlout, ha!"

"Oh yes, and if they can get there I'll give them a hundred gold pieces."

While the humans were going through the parchment with increasing frustration, Toothless was talking with their visitors.

" **So you'll be heading back to your nests**?"

" **As intriguing as this motley collection and her adventures are, I am afraid it must be so** ," Deafpool replied, " **I must get back before my territory is taken by another—but by all means let me know how events have turned out, should you chance to pass my way again** ,"

" **In other words, yes, I want to go home** ," The Eruptodon, whose name was Trachyte, interrupted, " **I hope my volcano's acting up again, I'm hungry. I need a good helping of lava**."

The Thunderdrum shook his whole body from side to side. It was his way of shaking his head, since his head accounted for most of his body. " **I just find it entirely implausible** : a **dragon whose diet consists of lava."**

" **Is there a chance one of you could deliver a message for us**?" Toothless went on, ignoring the Thunderdrum, " **My Rider will write it out on parchment, so all you'll have to do is carry it to the island of Berk. I promise they won't shoot at you**."

" **Sure, I can do that** ," Trachyte said. " **Just tell me where it is** ,"

" **And when you get there, ask for Skullcrusher or Evictus. Let them know where we are and what's happened. That way both humans and dragons will know what's going on."**

Trachyte was privately a bit apprehensive of going to a human nest to deliver messages, but given how these humans and dragons had helped him, he decided to take a leap of faith and trust that Toothless was telling him the truth.

Back with the humans, they had gone through the parchment and found nothing of apparent value to them. In the end they decided they would just have to keep following the ships and wait for another opportunity.

"When that boy gets back, the first thing I'm having him do is clean his room!" Stoick declared as he added a new stack of parchment to 'searched through' pile. Hiccup's maps were mixed in with all the other sketches and notes, and they found out the hard way that Hiccup used a lot of parchment and kept them in just about every drawer he had. Stoick and Valka had been going through the piles for over an hour now without finding any map that might lead them to where they were going. Cloudjumper was sitting on the drawbridge, which Stoick had lowered for him.

"I think we'll have to make for where you last saw them and Skullcrusher'll sniff 'em out from there," he went on, "I just hope the trail's fresh enough."

"He's quite an artist," Valka remarked, holding up a beautiful charcoal sketch of Toothless.

"He didn't get that from my side of the family," Stoick observed as he picked up another pile and started flipping through the sheets. "So…"

Valka sighed. She knew what was coming. "Among other things, I thought you and he were better off without me, Stoick."

"Whatever gave you _that_ idea?"

"The fact that you never listened when I suggested dragons were better than we gave them credit for was one. I knew you only tolerated my ideas because I was your wife, but I also knew you were secretly embarrassed by them and always hoped I'd grow out of them."

Stoick looked at her sharply. "Are you saying you stayed away to save me from _embarrassment_?"

"Partially. There were other reasons too and I…I wouldn't blame you if you didn't like them. I don't think Hiccup did."

"How did he react to meeting you?" Stoick wished he could have been there to see his boy meet his mother for the first time.

She looked down shamefully. "Not well. And truth be told, I was actually expecting the same from you."

Stoick looked up from his work. "Were you?"

She shrugged. "I always thought you would've seen me as a traitor. I half expected you'd Blood Eagle me on the spot,"

"And lose my wife just when I got her back?" Stoick exclaimed, "Val, I'm not exactly…happy, with what's happened. But I've been through a lot too. And honestly," he chuckled suddenly, "When the choices are to either drive you away or to let you stay here, I much prefer the second," He remembered the night he had discovered Hiccup was still alive, when he had tried to capture and then kill his own son. It was a decision he still felt horrible about, and he had always loved Valka much more than Hiccup. "So…you've been with dragons all this time?"

"In Cloudjumper's nest," she clarified.

"The nest the Red Death commanded?"

"So you know about her too? Does everyone here know about her?"

"Oh yes, we know about her now. And all we ever saw was the skeleton. I can't imagine what she must have looked like when alive. And I still can't quite believe _Hiccup_ , of all people, was the one to take her down."

Valka shuddered. "It was a long time before I found out why they raided us. Aside from Cloudjumper, most of the dragons in the nest didn't trust me at first, and we could not communicate. It took a very long time for me to learn how to speak to them. Only years after I'd left did I learn about the Red Death. And even then, I couldn't work out what to do about it. Nobody could figure out how to take her down in battle." She thought of the Bewilderbeast and the discussions she had had with him. "The King of our nest had been willing to fight her, but everyone else had been afraid of losing him and insisted we learn more first. But we had no clue what the Red Death was capable of. Nobody knew her weaknesses and few were brave enough to get close and find out. Those who did offer to spy on her never came back. And when we'd find a dragon who'd escaped from her nest, they'd tell us the most horrible stories about her, making us more afraid of her."

"F **ear is very powerful when you can't see what you're really afraid of. I do not doubt the Red Death was nowhere near as dangerous as we believed, but how were we to prove it**?" Cloudjumper remarked.

"So what _did_ you do about it?" Stoick asked.

"The only thing we could do: try and deprive her of her dragons. That was why Cloudjumper was on Berk that night. He was trying to persuade other dragons to come with him."

" **Instead I met you** ,"

Valka smiled at him and went on. "We kept with the plan for a while, with only mixed results. Most feared they would fail to escape and be eaten, or they refused to believe us. Even those whom the Red Death did not control were afraid of her, and it bred mistrust among everyone."

"Those were dark years for everyone, by the sound of it," Stoick said. For him especially, as that would have been when he and Hiccup started growing apart, and he had begun to drink heavily.

"So you see, Stoick, I didn't come back because I could not see what good it would do! What would you have done if I had returned and told you the truth?"

"I would have gathered every warrior I could find and kill that beast or die trying." Stoick replied without any bravado.

"And that would have been suicide! And it wouldn't have been much better to return and deny I knew anything about them! And then out of the blue one day we heard she had died. That's when I thought the time had come to return to Berk. But when I arrived I saw you hated dragons more than ever, and I learned Hiccup had been killed by one." She shrugged helplessly.

"When was that?"

"Hiccup's sixteenth birthday,"

Stoick's brow furrowed a moment. So did Valka's when she realized what was going on. "Wait a minute. You don't remember when his _birthday_ is?"

"Um—right, it's in the early winter." Early winter for Berk was much earlier than in other climates. "I don't think he's ever mentioned it since he's been back." Certainly they had not celebrated it since he returned to Berk. Come to think of it, he could not remember the last time he had celebrated it at all. "Well…we'll sort it out when he gets back. First we've got to find him, and for that we need a map—ah!" he suddenly grabbed a sheet of parchment.

"That's a sketch of a mountain," Valka said, shaking her head.

"Oh…so it is,"

She sat down on the bed. "How did it ever come to this? When I was pregnant, I thought we would have the happiest family in the world."

"So did I," Stoick said bitterly, "It seemed simpler when we were younger," he looked at Valka pleadingly, "Can't we pick up from where we left off?" He went over to her and put a hand on her shoulder. They stared at each other for a moment. Then he said softly, "You're as beautiful as the day I first saw you,"

"We were kids then," she tried to sound nonchalant about it but blushed.

"Still thought you were beautiful,"

She looked hesitant. Aside from Stoick and Hiccup she had little reason to want to stay on Berk. And she knew Stoick would never leave Berk to join her in a dragon nest. And yet was not staying with her husband and son reason enough?

Still, she spoke evasively. "We better find Hiccup and bring him back safely before we start making plans for the future,"

Stoick looked very disappointed but nodded, and then groaned. "And how are we supposed to do that?"

Gobber came hobbling into the room. His timing was a bit too convenient, in Cloudjumper's opinion. He wondered if the cripple had been listening on the stairs.

"Any-thin? Mind if I join ya, then?"

"Knock yourself out," Stoick replied.

Gobber looked around, walked straight over to one chest, and pulled out a few sheets of parchment. "No, no, no…ah! I think this is it!" he held up one map. "Spain, yes?"

Stoick was speechless and Valka's mouth fell opened. "How did you...?"

"That's his 'bad' chest," Gobber said, confused that Stoick did not know it, "It's where 'e puts the stuff 'e keeps as a pre-ka-tion but also wants ter fergit about. Didn't ya know that?"

"No, I didn't," Stoick sighed, "Even now he keeps things…well never mind that. Is that Taber—Tabernas Desert on the map?"

"Err—" Gobber had to rotate the map a few times, "an' ah thought Gothi's writin' was 'ard ta reed—aye, thar it is."

Stoick took the map from him. "Great. Let's get going!"

" **I journey from Greenland to a volcano to Berk to Spain within the span of a moon cycle, all because of those impertinent youngsters who think everything is theirs to intervene with,** " Cloudjumper grumbled once he got outside, " **Everlasting ice,"**

Skullcrusher the Rumblehorn clambered over to him. " **No whining! This is a rescue mission**!"


	19. Chapter 19

**I Own Nothing**

 **All Rights Reserved**

 **To one of my guest reviewers, I was not slighted by your words, merely amused and confused. And I shall do my best to keep to the standards you're holding me to.**

 **To my other guest reviewer from chapter 18, I know I could write a prequel, but I am against writing it because I think it would be boring and I honestly have no desire to write it. Sure, a few moments would get tense and I wouldn't mind describing some places, but most of it would amount to Hiccup landing somewhere, seeing some sights, getting into a few largely irrelevant misadventures, and then flying to the next place. There would be no overarching plot, the segments would get repetitive, and the language barrier would make for awkward conversations, among other problems.**

 **There are only going to be two Dragon King Stories.**

 **Chapter 19**

 **The Cave**

The Tabernas Desert was a vast expanse made up of triangular yellow hills and ridges. Here and there were clumps of shrubs, but for the most part it was all sand and rock. There was a fascinating kind of stark and decadent beauty to the landscape, but only at certain times of day. At other times, especially in the mid afternoon, when the sun was at its zenith and there were no clouds in the sky, the area looked bleak, wasteful, and hopeless. And while the landscape at times resembled sandcastles half washed away by a passing wave, there was a decided lack of water anywhere.

For the Dragon Riders, it was as if they had come to another planet. Only Hiccup and Toothless had ever seen a real desert before. The rest had only ever seen sand on the beach, and that was nothing compared to this. The sand here was dry, grainy, and various shades of yellows and browns. Walking at times was very difficult, especially for Hiccup, but much more worrisome was the weather. The heat was incredible, even by the standards of the locals, but for the Vikings, who were used to near arctic temperatures, it was almost torturous. Nobody had slept much once they had entered the desert. Snotlout and Tuffnut were already sunburned in several places. Everyone had put on thin cloaks, which they had bought in the last town they had seen. The water supply was already half empty, and this worried everyone and made them all the more anxious to get going and get out of there. Even the Twins showed concern about the water supply and did nothing rash to it.

Only the dragons seemed at ease, except for Windshear. Her metallic scales made her incredibly and uncomfortably hot, so hot that Heather almost burned her hand trying to mount her one evening. By contrast, Hookfang was much happier than he had been in Greenland. The heat seemed to give him more energy and he could set his body on fire and not worry about burning anything!

It was towards midday when Hiccup climbed to the top of a slope some distance from their camp and peered through his spyglass. "There they are," he smiled to himself. Through the glass he could see Viggo and his hunters. They had left their ships behind and made their way inland two days before. The Riders had been following them discretely ever since Calais. They had not tried another boat raid because they knew Viggo would expect it. The fact that the hunters had kept close to the coastal towns had reinforced this assumption. But now that they were in the desert, they were a long ways from any help, and they could not bring those net launchers and catapults with them. Hiccup smiled. Here in the wilderness the dragons had the advantage. He looked up at the sky. Plenty of daylight left.

He heard panting and saw Fishlegs lumbering up the hill towards him. "That's some climb," he gasped, his face red with sweat, "So, whatcha looking at?"

Hiccup pointed and grinned. "Look at them, Fish. They're following the dried riverbed to that dead end over there. If we take certain precautions it'll be like grabbing eels in a barrel."

"How would there be a riverbed in the middle of the desert?" Fishlegs asked skeptically.

"Flash floods," Hiccup replied, "When it actually rains in these climates it comes down in torrents, and the ground can't absorb all the water. So for a short time you have a river cutting through the landscape. And by the looks of it, this little canyon's been a water route for centuries,"

"Are we in any danger here?" his friend asked nervously.

"Not as long as we stay high. It's Viggo's people who are in danger; although I don't think it's gonna rain now," he looked up at the sky. It seemed clear, though weather in the desert could change very quickly, he knew.

"Yes, they're in danger from us. Are we gonna move in?" Fishlegs asked eagerly.

"Not yet. We'll do it at early sunset. They'll all be hot and tired, and we'll come in from the west with the sun right behind us. And this time we won't have to worry about rescuing any dragons. And there'll be no trapdoors for Viggo to slip through." He smiled at the thought of having Viggo at his mercy.

"You're sounding rather devious," Fishlegs observed. He plopped himself onto the rock Hiccup was lying on, and to their surprise, it wobbled badly.

"Whoa there!" Hiccup cried, "hold still!"

"Sorry! I didn't think it would do that! I forgot it's on a hill of sand!" Indeed, this rock was on a hill of sand and if it had wobbled a bit more it might have rolled down that hill of sand and taken them with it. "But as I was saying, you're looking pretty happy in a dangerous way."

"Is that a problem?"

"It's a nice change, actually, considering how moody you've been these past bunch of days. Is something wrong?"

"We're in Spain, Fish," Hiccup said quietly. He gestured slightly to his back with a sweaty and twitching hand. "I'm sure it's a nice place and all that, but I think Adoncia ruined it for me forever."

"Are we close to where it happened…?"

"No." Much to his relief, the conversation went no further because Snotlout came lumbering up the hill to join them.

"Phew! That's some climb! Hi guys, what's happening?"

"Get down and keep your voice low! We're scouting out the Hunters," Hiccup said quickly.

"Good, good," he was so tired he threw himself down next to Fishlegs to rest a little. Instead, the sudden weight increase made the rock wobble again and this time the sand below it gave way. Before anybody could react the rock went into free fall down the side of the hill and they went with it, tumbling all the way to the bottom of the hill.

The hunters heard the noise.

"Go check that out at once," Viggo ordered some of them.

The three men landed in a pile on the ravine floor, but thankfully the rock had tumbled to the right and did not hit anyone.

"I think I've broken something!" Snotlout screamed. "Agh! My arm!"

"That's _my_ arm, Doofus!" Fishlegs snapped.

"OW! Hiccup, your leg just poked my butt!"

"Will you just—"

"OW! Snotlout, that's my nose!" Fishlegs' voice sounded eerily similar to Hiccup's.

"Get your nose out of my fist!"

"Get your—"

"WILL YOU TWO SHUT UP AND GET OFF OF ME?" Hiccup roared. He looked up a little, which was hard when lying on his stomach with two beefy men on his back. Dragon Hunters were approaching, their bows out and loaded. "Oh great,"

The way Fishlegs lay he saw the hunters approach them upside down. "Um…Hiccup?"

"We surrender!" Hiccup yelled. The hunters looked very amused. Hognose joined them and looked ready to have hysterics. "We surrender! There's no need for violence!"

"Jest like old times, eh? Useless on the bottom where 'e belongs, Fishy 'elpless, Snotty 'opeless!"

"And Hognose too heartless to lend a hand to those in need, oh yes, I feel so nostalgic. Now will somebody get these two off me _please_ , before I die of a crushed ribcage and deprive Viggo of a captive?" He knew Hognose would gladly watch him die like that unless it impacted the hunters negatively.

"Git 'em up and bring 'em to Viggo," Hognose ordered.

Back at the Rider's camp, trying hard not to be affected by the heat, Astrid saw Tuffnut moving his mouth as if he was talking and she took offense.

"YOU DON'T FOOL ME, TUFF! MY HEARING'S IMPROVING!" Her ears were still bandaged which, it turned out, kept them safe from sunburn, but she was not almost deaf anymore. She still had to talk loudly, however.

It was just her and the Twins for humans at the moment. Hiccup had gone to scout ahead, and Fishlegs and Snotlout had gone to join him. Heather had left with Windshear about an hour ago to search for any nearby water. She could see the Razorwhip reflecting the sunlight and guessed they would return pretty soon.

Despite not being completely deaf, she did not hear Hiccup, Fishlegs, and Snotlout shouting as they rolled down the hill. Tuff and Ruff did, but assumed they were just playing around and dismissed it. Toothless, however, leapt to his feet at once and rushed over to the source of the noise, the other dragons right behind him. This caught Astrid's attention but by the time she got moving Stormfly was already returning back to her.

From the top of the hill Toothless could see everything that was happening. He saw his human being picked up and bound by those accursed hunters. He was all set to charge down and blast them into oblivion when something made him freeze. He had spotted Skullcrusher some distance to the south.

At once he used his Beta authority to summon the Rumblehorn, wondering what on earth he were doing here and vowing to give him and anyone with him an extra helping of salmon for this as soon as he could.

Viggo was visibly pleased when he saw Snotlout and Fishlegs helping Hiccup hobble over towards him, flanked by his men. Hiccup's metal leg had been bent during the fall, making walking even more difficult on the sand than it already had been. Hognose had found this very amusing, and Dagur were just as pleased. Eret looked at him and quickly looked away.

"Well, Hiccup, we meet again," Viggo said smoothly.

"Erfreut,"

"And these two are?"

"This 'ere's Snotlout an' Fishlegs, sir, or as ah like ta call 'em, Snotty and Fishy,"

"Thank you Hognose, I really needed to know that. And where are the others?"

"No sign of them, sir," a hunter replied.

"See to our security," Viggo ordered Eret. "And Eret…don't forget, it's your security as well,"

"I know," Eret said grudgingly.

"I don't get why you put up with this, Eret," Hiccup said loudly. Hognose slapped him in the face.

Eret shrugged and replied, "Dragons are monsters, and it's my job to hunt them!"

Hiccup scowled at him and grimaced. "Who're the real monsters here, Eret? You don't see dragons turning on each other for bags of shiny metal scraps!"

"Except Smothering Smokebreaths, but that's just—" Fishlegs was silenced by Snotlout kicking him.

Viggo spoke. "Eret, go. And you go with him. And you two, search our guests,"

"We're unarmed," Snotlout said nervously.

"And we don't have any lenses on us," Hiccup added.

"If it's going to be torture, you'll get nothing out of us!" Fishlegs shouted.

"Everybody thinks that," Dagur grinned, "but they seldom stick to it, isn't that right, Hiccup?"

Hiccup smiled slightly, though his hands twitched. "As I recall, Dagur, the last time I cracked under torture I told you a bunch of lies and blew up your harbor,"

Dagur's face turned bright red and not because he was sunburned. Viggo held up a hand. "Well, Hiccup, by accident you're my prisoner again. So where are your friends?"

"Probably back where we left them,"

"Hiccup, I can't send a ransom demand or set up an exchange if I don't know where to send the messenger. How can we expect to come to a mutually agreeable arrangement like this? It's bad business."

"Too bad," Fishlegs smirked. "We know what you want, Viggo, and you're not getting it."

"Then we'll kill you!" Dagur grinned, stepping forward with his sword out. "And when we find your friends we'll kill them too! They'll be bits of bones and guts, every last one of 'em!"

"Hognose, go make certain Eret is doing his job properly," Viggo ordered, ignoring Dagur's behavior.

"But ah wanna see this!" Hognose pouted. "Ya all-ready sent someone ta watch Eret!"

"Hognose," Viggo said in a dangerous tone.

"On ma way, sir," but before he left he bent down so his face was almost touching Fishlegs'. "We'll kill 'em all, nice and slowly. And we'll 'ave some fun with them girls 'fore we cut 'em inta litta pieces!"

Fishlegs spat in his eyes. Hognose groaned and struck him, then stormed away muttering curses.

"That kind of mindset is going to get him into trouble one of these days, Viggo," Hiccup remarked.

"Thank you for the warning. Your leg looks a little bent, Hiccup. Having trouble with it? Well, lucky for you, we have only a little further to go now," He turned to Ryker, who had stood by in silence the whole time. "Ryker, have some men set up camp for the night." Unobserved by anyone else, he winked at his brother. "Dagur, bring the prisoners with us. And make certain my men keep swords pointed at their backs."

Astrid could hardly believe it. Stoick the Vast, Skullcrusher, and her own mother were approaching! It was as if they had just risen out of the desert! Greta Hofferson, stumbling over the sand, went right up to her and hugged her tightly. Astrid could faintly hear her crying "Are you alright? What's happened to your head? Where are the others? Are you alright?"

Stoick was less emotional. "What's going on?" he demanded. Cheerful reunions could wait for him.

Stormfly broke the bad news to Astrid (Toothless was still watching the hunters from the hilltop). Visibly shaken, Astrid translated the news for the others. He controlled himself by tightening the grip on his hammer.

"So my son, nephew, and Fishlegs are now prisoners?" he growled.

The Riders exchanged nervous looks.

"And was this deliberate?"

The humans shook their heads. "As far as we know, no sir,"

"Then I think it's time to show these Hunters just who they're messing with."

" **That's the spirit**!" Skullcrusher said, " **We'll teach those two-legged beasts a thing or two**!"

"We're right behind you, Chief," Tuffnut said.

They could see Heather and Windshear approaching, both of them looking very confused.

The hunters, with their prisoners in tow, trudged to the end of the gully, where the gaping mouth of a cave was clearly visible. They moved closer, largely unaware that they were being watched by more than just a few pairs of eyes. Eret had spotted Toothless earlier; his black shape easily stood out against the orange sand, but he had said nothing. Eret's enthusiasm for this treasure hunt was as dry as the desert itself. He had realized during the past few days he did not really care who acquired all the pieces of the Dragon Eye, and wondered why he had ever cared about it. If it was not for the fact that they were in the middle of the desert, he might have just turned around and walked away at that very moment.

Dagur was guarding Hiccup, and helping him to walk. Yet at one point his amused expression became dead serious and he spoke in a whisper. "Hiccup—that girl with you, is her name Heather?"

"Maybe," Hiccup muttered back. It was only now that he remembered what he had suspected about Heather and Dagur. The past weeks had given him plenty of other things to think about.

"Is she—?"

"I think so," Why he had spoken truthfully about this he had no idea, but there was such earnestness in Dagur's manner that he felt compelled to take a leap of faith and trust him with this information. He was often on the lookout for a chance to turn enemies into allies. He had almost gotten through to Dagur once before, or so he had felt, and perhaps another push would compel him to change sides, or at the very least cease to be a foe.

His hopes seemed to have some justification, for Hiccup had never seen Dagur look so nervous. But there was no chance for further discussion. They were surrounded by people whom they did not dare talking freely in front of, and not long afterwards they reached the entrance to the cave.

It was a large entrance, big enough for twice Toothless' wingspan and looked rather foreboding, like a gaping mouth waiting to eat whoever entered it. On the other hand, it meant a source of shade and escape from the heat.

"Do we have-ta search the 'ole place?" Hognose demanded.

"I'm afraid so," Viggo said, "the map does not show anything in the cave itself. Well, no sense in waiting."

"Wait a minute!" Fishlegs exclaimed loud enough for all to hear, "Look!"

They looked. And they saw a small dragon emerging from the cave. It looked like a Terrible Terror, except it was considerably smaller, had a less bulbous face, and a thinner but longer wingspan.

The Hunters were not impressed and many started laughing. " _That's_ what ya want us ta look at?" Hognose laughed scornfully.

"A cat's bigger than that thing!" someone spat.

Fishlegs was aghast at their foolishness. "But that's a Spitting Terror! They're very territorial and incredibly dangerous! Speed 3, Fire power 3, Venom—"

"3?" Dagur sneered.

"No, actually—" But his attempted warnings were just making the hunters laugh harder.

"Call that thing dangerous?"

"Sheep are more dangerous than that!"

"What's he do, bite yer legs?"

"Ooh, I'm so scared!"

Viggo did not share in the amusement. "Then Fishlegs, why don't you go down and take care of it, since you know so much about it?"

But Hognose pulled out his sword. "Oh, let me do it, sir! One more pair o' gloves fer the market!" He walked towards the dragon.

"But that dragon's got venom that can—"

Hiccup hastily interrupted him. "—it's perfectly harmless—"

Viggo turned quickly to watch but said nothing to stop Hognose.

The little dragon hissed at Hognose, but he ignored it and raised his sword. Then the dragon opened its mouth and spat something into the man's eyes!

Hognose screamed. The dragon spat again and he screamed even louder, his hands clutched his face and he fell to the ground, rolling around in agony.

"—unless it comes in contact with the eyes," Hiccup finished.

Nobody moved to aid Hognose at first because nobody was willing now to get close to the Spitting Terror. So Hognose was left to scream in pain as the venom did its work. He only received help after he, probably unwittingly, managed to stumble his way towards them enough that several hunters felt they were safe from the Terror. Only then did they come forward to tend to his injuries. His eyes were washed with water numerous times, which did nothing to stop his screaming. Much like Astrid's ears, there was little else that could be done except place bandages and hope for the best.

The three Riders had been tied up into a chain gang. Snotlout had tried to escape during the commotion but had been caught before he got five meters. Attempts to struggle and fight back were quickly stopped by spears pointed at his throat.

"Is that venom fatal?" Snotlout asked as he watched them try to tend to the whimpering and twitching Hognose.

"No, but he could go blind," Fishlegs replied, and he was not in the least bit sorry. "I was trying to warn them that Spitting Terror venom is rated at 18,"

Snotlout whistled. "That's pretty potent. And who'd have thought it? A tiny dragon that can spit blinding venom! I've never heard of such a thing before!"

"A cobra nearly did the same thing to me when I was in Egypt," Hiccup remarked, "Luckily it missed,"

Viggo stormed over to them. He was not angry about Hognose being injured, nor had he been really startled by it. He had been expecting an injury of sorts and had wanted to see what the Terror had which worried Fishlegs so much. No, he was just angry at the delay they had suffered because of it. So he ordered Ryker to shoot the dragon dead.

"Wait!" Hiccup yelled before Ryker could react. "Let me go down and talk to the Terror!"

"No," Viggo said coldly.

"Oh come on, what do you think I'm going to do? You've still got Fishlegs and Snotlout for prisoners if I try anything, and I can't ask the Terror to take any messages to someone because nobody but me understands Dragonese! I'll just go down and ask him to leave the cave for a few hours! He might even know where the lens is and save us the trouble of hunting for it! Besides, suppose you shoot him and miss? He might attack and blind you! This way, I'll be the only one risking my eyesight!"

Viggo paused, thought a moment, and then nodded. But he would not let anyone help him walk down, so Hiccup had to essentially bear crawl his way towards the Terror. It hissed and opened its mouth, revealing its large fangs to him.

" **Very impressive** ," Hiccup commented, careful to keep his distance.

" **How do you speak my language**?"

" **You know, I get asked that quite a lot** ," Hiccup remarked. " **I speak your language because my best friend is a dragon** ,"

" **Oh really**?" the Terror was skeptical, " **and why should I believe that when you're in the company of nasty two-legged Ladder Snakes?"**

" **You know, you're a lot cleverer than other Terrors I've come across**."

" **I have to be. Those pests run from their foes—I stay put. I have to know when the time is right to attack,** " it spoke in a very chilling voice.

" **Yes, I can see that** ," Hiccup replied, " **But I don't want any trouble. We only came to enter the cave and get something out of it. A small pane of glass—have you ever seen it in there**?"

" **Never. I've only taken up residence pretty recently.** "

" **Hmm. Well I had to ask. It would have saved us some trouble if you had**." He looked up at the sky and saw a dark cloud to the north. He looked at the surrounding hillsides and saw nothing. " **Tell me, do you smell rain in the air**?"

" **Yes I do. There'll be a storm soon**."

" **There's not much time, then. Listen, my little friend, I need you to do me a really big favor…** "

The hunters watched the two of them converse. Bit by bit they saw the Terror move closer to Hiccup until at last it was sitting in his lap and Hiccup was petting it. Fishlegs felt proud of him, while Snotlout felt a bit jealous. Dragons never did that for him.

"I wish I knew what he was saying," Viggo mumbled to himself. "He's up to something," but even if Viggo had understood Dragonese he probably would not have been able to hear what was being said. Still, he suspected he knew what Hiccup was doing, and was confident his suspicions were correct. If they were, the Terror would summon the other dragon riders and they would come to rescue their friends. That would bring them out in the opened and in range of his arrows. Besides, something about Hiccup and the way he was interacting with the dragon fascinated Viggo. "If we can learn some of his methods we could use them to lure a dragon right into our arms and then cut their head off."

Finally the Terror flew away and Hiccup called back to the hunters. "It's all right! He's agreed to let us in the cave until nightfall,"

Viggo and some of his men moved into the cave, bringing Snotlout and Fishlegs with them. The rest would stand by to watch at the cave entrance.

"Remember, if anyone tries anything funny, they'll get half a dozen arrows in the chest," Viggo said. "I really only need one of you alive,"

Only Viggo's men were allowed torches. The cave looked as if a giant spoon had scooped out some of the rock face. The walls were very smooth, though here and there were cracks and places where chunks had fallen out. And the higher half of the cave rear did not extend as far back as the lower half. Clearly the lower half got hit by flash flood waters more frequently. There were no formations or anything to make its appearance worth noting. The floor was strewn with rocks and sand.

"Well this is nice," Snotlout grumbled, "what do they want us to do, just start turning over rocks until we find something?"

"Yes," Viggo replied. He himself sat on a rock and watched.

"It would help if we could see better," Hiccup said impatiently.

"You with the torches, spread out and start looking," Viggo ordered.

Fishlegs moved over to Hiccup and helped him hobble about. " **What's the plan**?" he asked.

" **Find what we came for,** " Hiccup muttered back, " **Tell Snotlout be ready to fight when I give the word** ,"

"Stop that!" shouted one hunter, cuffing them both on the head. Hiccup realized that Fishlegs had just disproven his lie and looked at Viggo to gauge his reaction. But Viggo just sat on his rock and watched them like a patient vulture.

Back on the hillside, the expanded group of Dragon Riders sat mounted, waiting for Hiccup's signal. The minutes felt like hours to everyone. The Spitting Terror sat nearby, eager to see the action.

Stoick glanced to the ravine's western end, where a motley group of tents had been set up. It was an odd place for tents, at the bottom of a ravine with absolutely no defensive capabilities.

" **What's taking so long**?" Toothless muttered. " **He said once they found the last piece, they would use it to get close to Viggo and attack him, and their shouts would be the signal for us to attack. That's exactly what he said—so what's going on down there**?" He had been repeating those words over and over again, each time terrified that he had gotten something wrong and that the attack was already supposed to have started. He looked over to the north and saw it was raining over there. Yet over where they were it was completely dry.

Snotlout suddenly gave a shout. "There's a tunnel over here! I don't know about you but I'd hide this thing in a tunnel! Whoop! It drops a bit, I almost fell! Good thing I'm so quick, I'm like a—say, what is that stuff on the ground down there? It looks like the ground is moving! Cool!"

Hiccup and several hunters moved over to join him. He had been telling the truth. There was a drop of about 3 meters that led to a tunnel, roughly large enough for a man to crawl through if they stayed in a crouching position. And he was not wrong, there was something moving on the ground at the bottom of the drop.

"Maybe there's water down there?" Fishlegs suggested. Hiccup asked for a torch. The hunter held it high enough and everyone looking suddenly felt sick at what they were looking at. That was not water moving on the ground.

"Cockroaches," Fishlegs gagged. There must have been hundreds of them scurrying about on the ground. Their large backs were dirty shades of brown and glinted in the firelight.

"Well, now we know why that Terror lives here," Hiccup said, trying to lighten the mood. "Lots of food,"

"Perhaps we should look somewhere else?" Snotlout suggested. He liked bugs and things that crawled in the dirt as much as any young man, but not in a multitude like this.

But the hunter would have none of it. "Get down there and look."

"I'm not going down there!" Snotlout shouted.

"Same here!" Fishlegs nodded vigorously.

The hunters growled threateningly, though they were in no mood to try it themselves.

"I'll do it," Hiccup said reluctantly, "Just lower some rope for me,"

When he had started this whole adventure, he never imaged he would at one point be climbing over a horde of cockroaches. Thankfully one of the hunters had been courteous enough to drop a torch into the horde, scattering many of them away. Still, it took Hiccup four large steps (as large as he was able to make, given his prosthetic's condition) to make it away from the roaches. He squatted and crawled down the small tunnel, only to find it stopped after less than five meters. He looked around but saw absolutely nothing out of the ordinary. It was just a short tunnel through damp sand. He looked back at the cockroaches. What on earth were they doing there, anyway? They seemed to be feeding on something.

Still crouching, Hiccup called up to the others. "Hey Viggo! When you found other Dragon Eye lenses, what were they kept in? _Were_ they kept in anything?"

It was a while before he got an answer. "We found some in small iron boxes, if that's what you mean."

"Did you find any in wooden boxes?"

"…Yes, why do you ask?"

"And how deep were some buried?"

"Deep enough. Now, Hiccup, why are you asking this?"

Hiccup groaned for an answer. He was starting to make out what had happened. The Defenders centuries back had buried a box in what at the time had been the back of the cave. It must have looked incredibly inconspicuous at the time. But over the centuries the flash floods had dug out more and more of the cave and the tunnel he was crouching in. If the Defenders had used a wood box to contain this lens, thanks to the most recent flash floods, the wood might have been exposed for probably the first time since it had been buried, and the cockroaches were now feeding on it.

Hobbling over the cockroaches again, Hiccup picked up the torch and used it to shoo the roaches away. With them gone he could see the sides and top of the box, half eaten and incredibly rotten. He unhooked his prosthetic and used the bent end as a shovel to dig the box up and he gently removed the lid. Inside the box, as well preserved as if it had been made only yesterday, was the final Dragon Eye lens. It was a glass circle encased in a heptagonal piece of beautifully engraved metal. It was very light and cold to the touch.

Hiccup suddenly felt a sense of awe and betrayal. He was awed at the fact that he was the first man to touch this in probably four centuries and felt treacherous that he had removed it from where it had been hidden for so long.

Viggo's impatience had mounted. He had guessed what Hiccup was doing and at first was willing to let him do it, but he wanted a progress report. "Well? Have you found anything?"

"Yes, I've got it. I'm coming up." He slipped it into his belt. All they had to do now was pretend they were going to give it to Viggo, than attack him and make a lot of noise while doing so, and stay alive until the others arrived. It was a crazy plan but he had only had a very short time to work it out. Besides, he was confident Astrid and Toothless would not keep them waiting long. He picked up the torch and shoved it into the dirt to extinguish it. "There ya go, boys. Eat up," he said to the cockroaches. They came rushing back to feed, but he was already climbing up the rope by that point.

The first thing he saw was the anxious face of Fishlegs. "Give me a hand please?"

"Yes, help him up," Viggo said eagerly, "help him up! And no tricks or someone will get hurt! We wouldn't want that now, would we?"

"Did you get it?" Snotlout asked once Hiccup was up, "was it where I thought it would be? Yeah! Go Snotmaster and Hiccup!" Snotlout gleefully punched Hiccup in the shoulder, as Astrid might have done. The punch, or more correctly a shove, caught Hiccup off guard and he fell backwards, right down the shaft he had just climbed up and right into the mass of cockroaches!

Hiccup screamed loudly and seconds later came screams from the outside. Viggo had maybe an instant to react before Snotlout and Fishlegs lunged at him, trying to pin him to the ground. His hunters aimed their bows, but then something big and black barreled into them.

" **Where's my human**?" Toothless roared. " **Hiccup? Where are you? Hiccup**!" He swung his tail and sent a hunter right into the wall. Hookfang burst in with a screech and lit himself on fire. In the gloom of the cave he was truly a terrifying sight. Two hunters dropped their bows and ran for it but, lucky for them, Hookfang made straight for Snotlout. Meatlug was right behind him.

Viggo shoved Snotlout into Fishlegs and the two fell to the ground. They were up in a second, but Viggo was already making for the exit, only to find the dragons blocking his way, compelling him to turn back to the two Vikings. Furious, Fishlegs dove at him and grabbed his foot, making him trip and fall to the ground. Then Stormfly, with Astrid on her back, appeared nearby and threw spines into the edges of Viggo's shirt, essentially nailing him to the cave floor.

"GOTCHA!" shouted Astrid, leading off her dragon and holding her axe to Viggo's neck. As she did so Fishlegs cut the Dragon Eye from his belt and attached it to his own.

"This belongs to the Defenders, not _you_!" he spat.

Toothless had heard Hiccup's shouting and spitting, and he rushed towards the source of noise.

" **Hiccup! Are you all right**?"

"GET ME OUTTA HERE!" Hiccup yelled as he swatted cockroaches on his face. Toothless took very careful aim and fired a plasma blast. The cockroaches that survived scampered away at once. Toothless then climbed down, tail end first. He could not fit his wings into the shaft. " **Are you all right? Are you hurt**?" he yelled desperately, for he could not actually see his human.

"I HATE COCKROACHES! I HATE 'EM! THEY WERE CRAWLING DOWN MY SHIRT AND OVER MY FACE! I NEVER WANNA SEE ANOTHER COCKROACH AGAIN!"

" **Then let's get out of here—and stop shouting like that or I'll end up like Astrid**!"

Hiccup quickly grabbed the Night Fury's tail and the dragon pulled him out, like a rod pulling a fish out of a pond. And the first thing Hiccup saw when he reached the main chamber of the cave was his father.

"Dad! What are _you_ doing here? Not that I'm complaining, but—"

"I came to save my son, of course!" Stoick retorted as he bashed a hunter on the head, "We both did!"

"What? You mean—" he saw Cloudjumper pinning a hunter to the ground and Valka rushing towards them. "Well I'll be…"

Valka grabbed him by the collar. "Hiccup, are you all right? I _told_ you the Eye was better left where it was! I told you—did they hurt you? What happened? What did you do to your leg? Did they hurt you? What's with those marks on your face—are those _bug guts_? Did they hurt you?"

"Which question do you want me to answer first?" Hiccup grinned weakly as he clambered onto Toothless so he had actual mobility.

" **You kept us waiting for too long**!" Toothless said furiously. When the planned signal had not come they lost patience, and just as they started attacking they had heard Hiccup's screams. They had not known it was not the signal Hiccup had intended to give, because Snotlout pushing Hiccup into the roach pile had _not_ been part of the plan. Snotlout had evidently come up with that part by himself.

Hiccup could see Heather and Windshear going after Dagur, who looked torn between fighting and fleeing. At any rate, he was clearly only defending himself and made no effort to harm Heather, but the intent was not mutual. She was throwing all her strength into every swing of her double bladed axe.

Now it was Astrid's turn to come rushing over to him. "ARE YOU ALRIGHT?" Before he could answer she punched him in the leg. "THAT'S FOR SCARING ME LIKE THAT AND GETTING CAUGHT!"

"I _was_ alright," Hiccup grunted. He had probably gotten more injuries from his friends than his enemies today. The expected kiss and hug that usually followed never came. Instead they heard someone from outside bellow "DROP YOUR WEAPONS NOW!"

Everybody froze; human and dragon alike. A tense silence followed. Hiccup, on Toothless's back, had the dragon shift closer to the entrance for a better view. A new and large group of Dragon Hunters had arrived and had arrows pointed at everybody not on their side. Ryker was standing in the front, a broad grin on his face.

Before Hiccup could do anything more Viggo pulled free from the Nadder spines, whipped out a knife, and leapt onto Toothless. The dragon roared but Viggo had grabbed Hiccup in a chokehold and yelled "I have the Heir of Berk at knife point! I suggest you do as Ryker says and drop your weapons! And I would think carefully before trying to blast me with fire! You dragons might miss and hit poor Hiccup instead!"

"Do as he says," Stoick ordered quickly. It made little difference in some respects, for the dragons did not have any weapons to lower, so they remained as dangerous as ever. The hunters began picking themselves off the ground and running over to rejoin their fellows.

Viggo muttered in Hiccup's ear, "I thought you'd try to ambush me here, so I prepared to ambush your ambush. Now," he said to the whole assemblage, "I propose two exchanges. You give us the Dragon Eye and all of the lenses, and I'll spare your lives. Then, you let us leave and I will release Hiccup to you—at a time of my choosing. You have one minute to agree or I will order my men to open fire on all of you."

"Do that and we'll return fire," Stoick retorted, "we'll take a lot of you with us. Care to risk the lives of your men like that?"

"Everyone is expendable," Viggo replied coolly, "I am going to count to—!"

At that moment Skullcrusher slid down the hillside, bringing a lot of sand and rocks down with him, and the small avalanche slammed right into the main body of the newly arrived hunters. At the same time a plume of green smoke wafting towards them from behind exploded with enough force to blast everyone except Skullcrusher off their feet.

"LOKIED!" the Twins cheered. A clap of thunder sounded, as if to say the Gods were voicing their approval.

"Get them!" Stoick roared, though his people needed no prompting. Hiccup turned around as best as he could and head-butted Viggo, while Astrid had grabbed Viggo's wrist and twisted the knife out of it. Dazed as he was, Viggo's grip on Hiccup tightened. Another clap of thunder sounded, followed by three more in quick succession. Light filled the cave for moments as lightning struck the desert outside. The storm had reached the area.

And then everyone froze again, for they heard an ominous sound. It was the sound of a roaring river.

"FLASH FLOOD! GET OUT OF HERE!" Hiccup screamed. Toothless had already taken off, and it was a mercy for Viggo that he had been holding onto Hiccup so tightly, or else he would have fallen off the Night Fury and died in the flood waters that came thundering down the ravine.

The dragons burst out of the cave like a flock of bats. The hunters panicked and broke off in random directions. Seconds after they did so, a huge mass of water tumbled down the ravine, smashing into everything in its path as if such obstacles were mere toothpicks.

Some ran for the high ground. Some ran blindly into the cave. Still others ran for the ascending dragons, hoping a Rider would be merciful and save them. And still others were so scared by the sight of brown torrents heading straight towards them that they did not move at all. For such men, it was the last thing they ever did.

Cloudjumper grabbed Valka and Stoick and landed them safely on high ground. The two Haddocks looked around frantically for Hiccup, but saw nothing. Lightning flashed again and a loud thunder clap answered, prompting survivors to cover their ears.

The flood slammed into the cave, recoiled, and did so again, and again, each time with decreasing force. A few bodies and scraps of tent cloth floated on its surface.

Stoick did not have much time to search for Hiccup, because the hunters who had escaped the flood had to be rounded up before they could reorganize and his people had to be organized so they could do this. Spotting Stormfly and Astrid dropping two hunters and pinning them to the ground, he ordered them to search the area for his son. Valka wanted to go as well but Stoick wanted Cloudjumper to stick around, as the Stormcutter would look very intimidating to most hunters. Viggo Grimborn was unaccounted for, but his brother had been snatched up by Skullcrusher and was now being used by Fanghook as a seat cushion and subjected to Gustav's taunting. Stoick shook his head and scowled.

"We just escaped a flood and he's already making jokes!"

"Maybe it's his way of coping with danger," Valka suggested.

"No, he does that by flirting with Astrid. Gustav! Get over here! And everybody keep an eye out for anyone missing!"

Thunder sounded again, but softer this time. The storm appeared to be leaving as quickly as it came.

It was his first time flying on a dragon, but Viggo had no interest in the charms or beauty of the novelty. Instead he pulled out another knife and tried to stab Hiccup in the back, only to find that Hiccup's flight suit was built for such occasions. The blade did not pierce his skin at all. However, the sudden attack made Hiccup accidently move Toothless's tailfin pedal the wrong way and the three of them went into a very sharp turn eastwards, away from the cave and the ravine. Viggo, suddenly aware he was in danger of falling to his death, grabbed Hiccup more tightly than ever.

A bolt of lightning came down not far in front of them. The hairs on the humans stood on end, they were temporarily blinded, and the following thunder nearly deafened them. Hiccup had turned the pedal so that they shot straight up for a dozen meters, dodging the bolt. Then, as if the Gods really did hate Hiccup, Toothless's saddle somehow came unbuckled.

Hiccup felt the straps break loose and suddenly found he was no longer connected to his dragon. He quickly spread his arms and released the Dragonfly 43 wingspan. Unfortunately, he had not counted on Viggo grabbing his foot and hanging on for dear life. The wingspan was not meant to carry that much weight and the leather under one arm started splitting. The two half glided and half plummeted towards a hilltop, landing in a soft patch of sand with loud grunts and thuds.

Viggo was upon Hiccup in an instant. The two rolled around, each one trying to pin the other down.

"I don't want to kill you!" Viggo cried as they wrestled, "just give up and let's discuss this!"

"Says the guy who attacked _first_!" Hiccup snorted, "You just want me alive so you can use me as a captive!"

It was an even fight, they both were realizing. Neither of them could see too well, Viggo was not the strongest of men, and Hiccup was not in the best physical shape right then. But his broken prosthetic still hurt Viggo's whenever he kicked him. Viggo tried to use his knife and slashed at Hiccup's knuckles. But Toothless came charging towards them like a bull, and he collided with the hunter. Viggo rolled over to the edge of the hilltop they were on. He was on his feet at once, just in time for Hiccup to punch him in the stomach and kicked him again. Viggo went over the edge and tumbled out of sight.

" **Nice one** ," Toothless commented.

" **Ugh, I hope we never have a flight like that again** ," Hiccup groaned, putting a hand on his back and trying to tend to his bleeding hand, " **I think I've just aged a few years** ,"

" **Oh stop whimpering.** _ **I've**_ **aged a few decades thanks to your shenanigans**!"

Hiccup lost his balance and flopped onto the ground. " **This sand isn't even wet! And the clouds are already clearing**!" he looked around quickly, "Where **are we? Where are the others**?" He was about to tell Toothless they should grab Viggo and head back but they saw Stormfly flying towards them. Astrid leapt off the Nadder and grabbed Hiccup around the middle. "THANK THOR!"

"I'm glad to see you too," Hiccup grinned.

"WHAT?"

"I'M GLAD TO SEE YOU TOO! ARE YOU ALRIGHT? IS EVERYONE ELSE SAFE?"

" **I don't know, but we've got lots of prisoners now** ," Stormfly announced, " **Your sire is organizing them**."

" **Then let's add one more to the lot**." Hiccup asked Stormfly to take a look down below for Viggo. She was gone for only a few minutes and came back with a surprisingly docile man in her claws.

"I surrender," Viggo said as soon as he was on the ground again.

"Just like that?" Hiccup said disbelievingly.

"I am no fool, Dragon King. We are in the middle of the desert, and all of my supplies are either washed away by the flood or on my ships, which are several days from here. I know I will never survive on my own, so the sensible thing to do is surrender. However, I do expect to be treated with fairness equal to my standing. Remember, Hiccup, I treated you and your friends well when you were my prisoners."

"Sure you did." Astrid bent down and bound Viggo's hands.

"I must congratulate you for your success," Viggo said, "though really you only won by sheer luck, with the flood. If it had not been for that—"

"I still would have won," Hiccup smirked, "Did you forget I ambushed your ambushed? Do you think I didn't figure out you had hunters hide in those tents of yours?" After a quick situation update from Astrid, he gestured for her and Stormfly to take Viggo over to Stoick. Hiccup had to ride on Toothless because of his leg and, since they had lost his saddle, Toothless were forced to walk. The storm clouds had moved further south and the sky was bright blue again.

Toothless grinned, **"'do you think I didn't figure out?' You sure looked smug saying that** ,"

" **Well it was the truth**!" And indeed it was. Hiccup had observed the tents being set up and noticed there were fewer hunters at the cave then he had seen earlier. So he had wondered: why set up tents on the nonstrategic floor of a ravine and why not bring every hunter with them to the cave? He could only conclude that some hunters had been left behind in those tents to watch and wait; to 'ambush the ambush' Viggo had anticipated. So Hiccup had told the Spitting Terror to tell some dragons to keep an eye on those tents. Evidently the Twins had taken the job, though Hiccup had hoped the concealed hunters would have been taken care of _before_ they reached the cave.

They found the saddle nearly 200 meters away. It was a largely ruined and dirty heap of leather now.

" **It might be salvageable** ," Hiccup said as he examined it, " **If I had the materials…oh who am I kidding? Well, let's rejoin the others, Bud** ,"

He climbed back onto the Night Fury's back and the dragon started walking again.

 **Author's Note:**

 **I am going on vacation soon, so this story will be on hiatus for 3 weeks. Chapter 20 will be posted on July 8** **th** **. During my trip I will have no internet access, so anyone who writes a review or sends a message should not expect a response for a while.**

 **So to get you excited for what's coming next (and possibly make you impatient and furious with me) here are some snippets from the next 2 chapters:**

 **From Chapter 20:**

 **Stoick's eyes widened. "That's right, yes I did. It was a gift for his newborn daughter. It's customary for a Chief to send a gift when another Chief has a child."**

" **And this one was a gift for the daughter of Oswald the Agreeable?" Hiccup asked hoarsely. Stoick nodded firmly. Then he understood what Hiccup was implying and he looked at Heather in astonishment.**

 **As for Chapter 21, I think all you need to know is it's titled: The Wedding**


	20. Chapter 20

**I Own Nothing**

 **All Rights Reserved**

 **I am back and here is the next chapter!**

 **This story has received 94 reviews so far. Will it reach 100 with this chapter?**

 **Chapter 20**

 **Family Affairs**

Heather dragged Dagur to put him with the group of prisoners. Most of them looked relieved to have escaped the flood, which had made them twitchy and alert. But then there were men like Ryker who had to be restrained by dragons while they were tied up. Hognose, it turned out, had started climbing one hill when the Berkians had attacked. In the chaos of the fight nobody had paid any attention to his nonthreatening figure crawling away. When the flood had hit he had been high enough to escape it, but had then been caught by Snotlout and Hookfang. He was the only prisoner lying down, still moaning over the injuries to his face. The rest were made to stand as Stoick had them searched and counted.

"Well, well, well. Hello, Dagur," Stoick said with an unpleasant smile, "My prisoner again, I see!"

"Isn't it wonderful? Did ya miss me?" Dagur smiled back, "I'll bet you did! Everybody misses old Deranged the Dagur, just like I've missed my little sister!" he gestured to Heather. Stoick's brow furrowed and he looked at Heather questioningly.

She shrugged "He's been calling me that ever since we started fighting."

"Well, he calls Hiccup 'brother' all the time, for reasons we still don't understand." By which Stoick meant to not bother wondering what Dagur meant. Heather began searching his person for concealed weapons.

"I'm unarmed, Sister! Well, I mean, I do have two arms, but I don't have any _arms_ on me—unless you count my real arms, but I don't have any _metal arms_ —hey, you know, Drago did! Of course that was only one arm so it would be arm, not arms, therefore—hey, here comes my brother Hiccup on top of his brother Toothless! Say, does that mean Toothless is my brother too? I never thought I was related to a dragon!"

Stoick breathed a sigh of relief and rushed over to Hiccup. "Thank Odin, son! What happened to ya? Are you injured?"

"Only materialistically," Hiccup replied, "My prosthetic got bent earlier—"

"Don't you have a spare?"

"I _did_ , but—" he held up the ruined saddle and jiggled one of bags attached to it. They heard metal pieces clanging together. "In addition, my gauntlets have been smashed, and I'll need to build Dragonfly 44 sooner or later."

"You've gone through 43 of those things?" Stoick exclaimed.

"Um…yeah?"

"I thought you'd be in the hundreds by now," Heather commented.

Hiccup quickly changed the subject, "Is everyone else alright?"

Stoick shook his head but his expression was reassuring. "We've had some injuries, mostly stab wounds and arrow wounds, but thank Odin it's nothing life threatening at the moment. We got very lucky."

"I agree. If we'd delayed a few moments we'd have had our brains dashed out. So what's going on here?"

"I'm talking to my sister, Hiccup!" Dagur said cheerfully, "For the first time in years I'm talking to my sister! But you know what else is nice to talk to? Pine cones!" He attempted to dance as he sang "Pine cone! Pine cone! Cute little pinecones that will make the cute little squirrels so happy if I don't rip them to pieces and spew their guts over the island, just like I did to Dad!" he burst into his maniacal laugh. "Yeah! Tear 'em up and send their pine cones to Valhalla and Pine Cone Paradise! Hey, sister, how about we go to Pine Cone Paradise sometime together?"

"Oh for the love of—will you stop calling me that?" Heather shouted, "I don't have any siblings!" She knew she was technically wrong, but she almost never thought of the brother she had only one or two memories of. In fact, now that she thought of him, she wondered if that boy was not just some playmate she had known once.

"Such hostility!" Dagur cried happily, "She's so aggressive and dangerous! Oh, sister, we are going to have so much fun together! She truly is a Berserker, isn't she, Hiccup?"

"Not crazy enough," Hiccup replied evasively.

"Be remedied can that! By which I mean that can be remedied!"

"You really should see a healer about that speaking problem of yours,"

"I kinda like it! It goes well with my nickname! Dagur the Deranged—so deranged he can't even say crazy without sounding sentences!" He tried to strike an over-the-top dramatic pose but the ropes around his hands prevented it and he nearly fell over.

Once the prisoners were organized and secured, and the heat had cooled off a little, Stoick called his people together to discuss what to do with them. Astrid sat between her mother and Hiccup, much to the chagrin of Gustav. Her hearing had improved a little during the past few hours and, while most things sounded muffled to her, she no longer had to shout to hear her own voice. Just yell.

Toothless positioned himself behind his Rider. All of the dragons except Toothless and Cloudjumper were guarding the prisoners. Cloudjumper seemed to think guard duty was beneath his dignity and stayed with Valka, who was sitting next to Stoick. Skullcrusher, by contrast, acted like it was his one and only purpose in life, while the others did this to protect their humans.

Stoick was the only human in the circle standing. "So, we have now 22 prisoners. What are we going to do with them? Suggestions, anyone?"

"Before we begin that," Hiccup cut in, "I'd like to know how you all found us. I didn't include this desert in my letter because we didn't even know we were coming here! So how'd you know?"

"Yeah, and what happened to Queen Mala?" Heather anxiously added.

"And how did you find us?" Tuffnut asked.

His sister shoved him in the ribs. "Hiccup already asked that, dummy!"

"Dummy yourself!"

"Dummy yourself again!"

"And again!"

"Stow it, both of you!" Stoick yelled, "Honestly, we just _had_ a fight! Give it a rest already! Now Mala is, last we heard, being looked after by Gothi. She was dangerously injured when we left, but she'd survived that long, so it's possible she'll recover. On the day we left Berk, we came upon a boat at sea with Defenders on it, and we told them to make for Berk. They've almost certainly arrived by now." Heather looked very relieved to hear this. Now she knew her new tribe was not entirely wiped out.

"As for how we found you," Valka said, "Mala told us where to look. We got your message from Trachyte, but he said you were heading to Gibraltar."

"We deduced that was where the Hunters were going. And we were right!" Fishlegs said brightly, "We passed through it earlier—you really oughta see those rocks, dad! But we had no idea we'd be making for this desert afterwards."

Fishlegs' father spoke, "We decided to chance it and come here instead of make for that…jib's altar was it? Anyway, we skipped that place and arrived here several days ago, and we'd been searching ever since." He shook his head and massaged his temples. Those had been rough days; sick with the heat and sick with worry. "We didn't know if you were even there, or even alive, and every night we'd debate if we should make for the other place, but then, thank the Gods, our dragons suddenly changed direction and brought us to Toothless."

"That would've been after we fell down that hill," Hiccup said, "thanks a lot for that, by the way, Snotlout! And thanks again for pushing me into a cockroach cluster!"

"That was to get you out of the way! You couldn't fight with your leg bent, so I pushed you somewhere safe!"

"And nearly broke my spine doing it," an exaggeration but his back still hurt from the fall.

"And this is what I get for acting selflessly! Next time I let them cut you into ribbons!"

"I for one am grateful to you," Stoick loudly interrupted, "But now back to our prisoners. What should we do with them?"

"Why not just kill them?" A member of the 'A' Team asked, "They attacked us! They're the reason we're all down here in the first place!"

"Yeah, they'd do the same to us!" Snotlout agreed. He sat next to Heather, not by invitation. On her other side was Fishlegs and his father.

A prisoner tried to protest but Fanghook growled at him to be quiet.

"I say kill some of them," Heather argued. "Kill the worst offenders and let the rest go at the next settlement." There were some murmurs of agreement.

"Or we could just leave 'em here."

"Hiccup? What do you think?" Stoick asked.

"I don't think murder is the thing to do," he replied, "We're better than this. Can't we just take them back to Berk and lock them up?"

"That's rich, coming from a devil lover like you!" a prisoner shouted, "You're the one who killed—!"

Hiccup's eyes might have belonged to Medusa. He gave the man such a look the man froze and fell silent.

Everyone looked at Hiccup curiously and there was murmuring.

"Son, what was he talking about?"

"I'll explain later—when _those_ people aren't in earshot. So as I was saying, I don't see the need to kill anyone now—even though it appears some of them are trying to give me a reason."

"Don't kill Eret son of Eret!" Ruffnut cried.

"Don't kill us!" Dagur suddenly wailed. "We're reformed men! I'm a reformed man! I'm too young to die! I'm too deranged to die! I'm too…whatever you want me to be, I'm too much of that to die!"

"Dagur, they haven't even decided to kill us yet," Eret growled. "Keep this up and you might persuade them!"

Dagur was not reassured. "Sister! Don't let them kill me! I'm innocent! Innocent I tell you! I only sacrificed your doll to the Gods a _few_ times!"

"WILL YOU STOP CALLING ME 'SISTER'?" Heather roared. "I DON'T HAVE A BROTHER!"

"But Hiccup said—" but Windshear had had enough of him annoying her rider. She swung her spiny tail and stopped it when one spine was inches from piercing Dagur's throat. "Nice dragon, nice dragon!" he squeaked, "you be good to me, I be good to you, deal?" the spine got closer and his voice went up a few more octaves. "All right, all right, I'll stop talking!"

"What did you say to him, Hiccup?" Fishlegs asked curiously.

Hiccup shrugged. "I don't remember,"

"Not true! You said 'I think so'! And I promise I won't say anything else, nice dragon, please don't kill me!"

"Thought so about what?" Someone asked.

Hiccup uncomfortably turned to Stoick, "Can we discuss this privately?"

Stoick shook his head. "Oh no. I've had enough of people being secretive. As a Chief you've gotta learn to trust your people and tell them the truth!"

" **Sure, trust your people and tell them the truth. When it suits** _ **you**_ **, at any rate** ," Hiccup muttered in Dragonese. But everyone was looking at him expectantly and he could see no real way out of this short of lying.

After a long silence he turned to Heather. "Could I see your horn, please?"

Heather muttered something about "some hunter trick" and reluctantly passed her horn around the circle.

"Dad…this is your seal, right?" Hiccup asked.

"Of course," Stoick said at once. He knew that mark anywhere. For the first time Heather looked curious and her curiosity quickly turned to shock and alarm.

"That's your father's seal? But that was given to me by _my_ father! Hiccup, are you saying...?" her mouth fell opened and she stared at him.

Hiccup turned back to his father. "Dad, do you know why your seal would have been carved into this horn?"

"Probably as a gift, I imagine," Stoick said.

"Did you give such a gift to the Berserkers nearly 30 years ago?" Hiccup pressed.

Valka nudged her husband. "Stoick, didn't you have a horn made for one of Oswald's children?"

Stoick's eyes widened. "That's right, yes I did! It was a gift for his newborn daughter. It's customary for a Chief to send a gift when another Chief has a child, you know."

"And this one was a gift for the daughter of Oswald the Agreeable?" Hiccup asked hoarsely. Stoick nodded firmly. Then he understood what Hiccup was implying and he looked at Heather in astonishment.

Everyone else was downright confused. Most of them knew nothing about Heather's past. Heather herself suspected what was being said but her mind was denying it, insisting she was misreading the discussion. Nervously she asked, "Hiccup, what are you saying, exactly?"

"Oh my Gods," Fishlegs gasped.

"I'm saying that I think you're…I think you and Dagur really are…siblings," Hiccup said at last.

"Are you CRAZY?" Heather shouted, making everyone jump, "How can I be that man's… _sister_? I'm not a Berserker! My parents weren't…"

"Dagur told me his sister was lost at sea a long time ago, and his sister's name was Heather."

"And you believe him?" she shrieked, "He's a dragon hunter, he's crazy, he never tells the truth—"

"I know that, but how many Heather's have been lost at sea when they were children? And how many of them have horns that were given to the daughter of Oswald the Agreeable?"

"No! I can't be…I'm not…No!" she cried vigorously, but it was clear she was no longer believing her denials. It was clear the pieces were falling into place in her mind. "I'm not!" She suddenly leapt to her feet and backed away from the group.

"You are!" Dagur yelled happily, "You are and you know it! We're going to have so much fun! My little sister and me against the whole world! I can't wait!" But the Berkians had gotten so angry with him that Snotlout and Tuffnut were sent over to gag the man.

"Heather?" Fishlegs said nervously.

She looked terrified, but took a deep breath and spoke with forced calmness. "I want to be alone,"

"If you want to—"

"I said I WANT TO BE ALONE!" she shouted. Then she turned and ran into the desert.

"Heather, wait! It's getting dark, you'll get lost!" Fishlegs yelled. Windshear was already flying after her. Fishlegs was ready to follow but his father grabbed him by the shoulder.

"Let her be for a moment, son."

Astrid turned angrily to Hiccup. It was only until Heather had started shouting that she had understood what was going on. "How long did you know?"

"I didn't _know_ until just now," Hiccup said sharply. Her tone had rubbed him the wrong way. "But I've suspected since before we last visited the Bog Burglars," he added lamely.

"That long? And you didn't tell me?" Astrid shouted, "What happened to us not keeping secrets?"

"Astrid, do you seriously expect me to share every little thing I think of? We wouldn't have time to do anything else if I did that!"

"This is not exactly a 'little thing'!"

"At the time it was! It was just some conjuncture and suspicions I had! What was the point in telling anybody when I couldn't prove any of it and when I myself didn't know if it was correct? And not long afterwards other things came up and I completely forgot about it—until today! And we weren't exactly idle today, were we?"

"I _hate_ to break up your little argument, but Heather has just found out her brother is a dragon killing maniac and she's now wandered off into the desert! Don't you think that's a more urgent problem than your secret sharing issues?" Fishlegs shouted.

They all agreed but as Heather had wanted to be alone, Stoick told them to respect her wishes for a little while.

Heather just ran as fast as she could, as if it would get her away from what she had just learned. She just could not believe it, and she tried to tell herself it was all some cruel prank. She tried to reason out this idea. After all, could not Stoick have given such gifts to others besides Oswald's children? Dagur was obviously nuts so he could easily have been mistaken. And could not Hiccup have made a false assumption? Unless he knew something she did not.

She came to an abrupt stop and kicked a rock as hard as she could. No. There was no way out of this. Hiccup would never have suggested such a thing if he had had any doubts about it. And she knew it fitted. She knew she had been found in a shipwreck and adopted. Was it really possible that her family were the former Chiefs of the Berserkers? Was it possible her brother was an enemy?

These questions swirled about in her head like a gale and the more they did the more distressed she became, because she could not wholly answer them and was terrified to think someone else, like Hiccup, could. She did not want it to be true and she did not want to be related to a nutcase who stood among her enemies.

"Who am I really?" she screamed at the horizon. She grabbed some sand and threw it away viciously, as if it was her memories. "Who am I?"

She looked around at the sand, as if that would answer the question. Instead, Windshear landed next to her.

"Who am I, Windshear? Who am I?" she flung her arms around the dragon's metallic neck, only to recoil and fall on the ground in surprise because of how hot her scales were.

She burst into a weak laugh. "I can't even turn to my own dragon for comfort here! That's just rich! As rich as me being Dagur's sister. As rich as being locked up by Outcasts and losing my people at sea, and then almost losing the Defenders! What is wrong with me?"

She took a shirt from her bag, wrapped it around her hands, and hugged her Razorwhip without injury and let the tears fall.

For several long minutes, the Berkians who had not been involved or concerned in what had just happened looked around uncertainly. Finally Stoick said feebly "So…what are we going to do with our prisoners?"

They started debating unenthusiastically, until Hiccup struggled to his feet. "Oh, take 'em back to Berk and lock 'em up. If we're that anxious to kill some we'll have plenty of time to do it later. I think we've waited long enough. C'mon, guys, let's go find Heather."

"Oh no you don't!" Astrid said flatly. "You and Toothless are staying here. You're in no shape to look for anybody now."

Everyone whose opinions Hiccup respected agreed with her, and he reluctantly complied. Snotlout also was not allowed to go, as Stoick put him to work helping guard the prisoners. This threw him into a bitter sulk.

Sunset over the desert was quite spectacular. The clouds on the horizon were a blood red and the land was either deep blue or golden, depending on where the sunlight reached. It was also the way Fishlegs and his Gronkle found Heather. Meatlug spotted the sunbeams reflecting off of Windshear.

When Fishlegs approached he saw the Razorwhip lying on the ground and Heather leaning against her, staring into the expanse of sand with unblinking eyes. Judging by the tracks, Heather had been pacing around a lot in an agitated fashion, but now she sat perfectly still. She barely even reacted when Meatlug and Fishlegs approached.

Comforting a woman was not Fishlegs's area of expertise. If it was Hiccup and Astrid, he thought, they would probably talk, punch each other, hug and kiss, and talk some more. But while that certainly sounded appealing, except for the punches, he doubted it was what Heather would want. He could think of no better way to start than to say "Hey,"

"Hey," she said monotonously.

"What are you thinking about? Wait, let me rephrase that—I _know_ what you're thinking about—um…what are your thoughts on what you're thinking about?"

Heather smiled slightly at his words, but it did nothing to improve her mood. "I just can't believe it," she said heavily.

"Me neither, really," Fishlegs admitted, "I mean, aside from eye color and a similar build, you two hardly look anything alike."

"So what am I supposed to do about it?" she cried. "Ignore it? Act like we've been best of friends for years? Try and be a sister to him? What do I do, Fishlegs, what do I do now?" Her voice trembled with those last words.

Fishlegs had been wondering that too. "It's really…up to you, of course..."

" **That's not good enough** ," Meatlug interrupted. " **Pretend you're in her skin. What would you do**?"

Fishlegs cringed uncomfortably. "Well...if Dagur turned out to be my brother…if he sincerely wanted to try to be a proper brother to me, I think I would let him. But if he just stayed the way he's always been…I'd acknowledge him as my brother by blood, but I'd do my best to stay away from him. Or…I don't know."

Heather sighed wearily. "You know, at first I thought Hiccup was going to reveal that _he_ was my brother. I really wish he had. I wouldn't mind in the slightest having him for a brother…it would certainly be preferable to _Dagur_!" she spat. "Is it true he murdered his father? _Our_ father?"

"Well…he's hinted that he did, but I've never heard any details. But then, of course, if he didn't kill him, what did happen to Oswald? Unless Oswald died naturally and Dagur just wants everyone to believe it was murder."

"And why would he do that? What kind of world do we live in where pretending to kill your own father is acceptable?"

"That's the Berserker world, and it's pretty twisted,"

"Then I want nothing to do with it." She got to her feet. "He can call me 'sister' all he wants, but I owe him nothing. My loyalty is to Queen Mala and the Defenders, and if Dagur stands against us that is his affair, not mine." Her firmness now wavered. "But what's going to happen to him? You're not going to _kill_ him, are you?"

Fishlegs shook his head. "We're going to take him back to Berk and lock him up. I don't know what we'll do with him later on, but that's for the Haddocks to decide,"

"Good…I guess."

She resumed her seat and they sat in silence for a while.

"You know what I did?" Fishlegs suddenly said. "When we were prisoners, Hognose started talking about you—"

"Who?"

"You must've seen the prisoner with the injured face. He was one of our old bullies. He has a very perverted mind; you should ask Astrid about him sometime. Anyway, he hasn't changed, and he said a few crude things about you and Astrid…so I spit in his face. I couldn't just stand there and let him insult you."

"What brought this up?"

"I don't know. I guess I just wanted you to have an example of us sticking up for you."

Heather told him Hognose was not worth the trouble, but she was secretly flattered.

"We'll stand by you, regardless of how you perceive Dagur." he promised.

" **What would you do**?" Meatlug asked Windshear.

" **Fly away and never see him again, if he's as bad as they say he is** ," the Razorwhip replied grimly. " **But I'm more worried about what'll happen to me and Heather. Her Queen didn't want me around, but I don't wanna leave her**!"

" **Of course you don't** ," Meatlug said gently, " **And maybe our actions today will persuade Mala to let you stay**."

" **I hope so**." She suddenly chuckled humorlessly. " **And all of this trouble for a tube with glass lenses!"**

Fishlegs had overheard their conversation and asked Heather what would happen to the Dragon Eye now. She had no more idea than he did. He asked her what she would do when they got back and she answered evasively. The only thing she was clear on was that she had no intention of spending time with her newfound brother.

It seemed that every concern they had would only be resolved upon their return to Berk. So they eventually opted to take the first step and return to the camp.

"Thanks, Fish," Heather said, "Really, thanks for talking to me,"

"Anytime," he replied with a warm smile. For a brief moment their eyes met, but then Heather shuffled away to mount Windshear.

While they were talking, another group consisting of the Twins was wandering around looking for them.

"Seems a bit weird, doesn't it? Heather's related to Dagur?" Tuffnut said.

"Makes about as much sense as Hiccup being related to Snotlout," his sister replied.

"But they aren't brothers. They're cousins. But at least nobody can say the same thing about our family, right? We're all very much alike!"

"Mom and Dad are invalids," Ruffnut said shortly, "We've got nothing in common with them,"

"I wasn't talking about _them_ ; I was talking about this generation: us and Gruffnut!"

Ruffnut groaned. "We've got nothing in common with him either."

"Sure we do! He's awesome, he's bold and daring, he breaks the rules all the time, he does cool things, a lot more cooler than we do, he—"

"He's good at telling stories. We _act_ ; he just says he does,"

"He fought at the Battle of Hastings on the side of the Spanish! How cool is that? And he's also friends with Philip of Macedonia and the Emperor Trajan!"

"Do you even know who those people are?"

"No, do you?"

"No."

"But it sure sounds cool, right?"

"Oh sure, it _sounds_ cool, but that doesn't mean it's true." Ruffnut scowled. "I can't believe you swallow everything he tells you, Tuff. If he told you the world travels around the sun would you believe him?"

"Sure, but he'd never tell me that because we both know it isn't true!"

"And this is why I don't ever like to talk about him. As soon as he's mentioned you get all awestruck, your eyes get big, and you start acting like a chipmunk!"

"Oh ho ho! A chipmunk, huh? Well what about _you_ , talking about marriage with that Eret while he's tied up and pleading with him to 'hold you in his manly hunter arms'? Hah! You make me sick!"

Ruffnut attacked him and he hit back.

"Don't you dare insult my Eret!"

"Don't you dare insult our cousin!"

The 'don't you dares' went on even after they returned to the others. Their fellow Vikings glanced at them curiously and then shrugged, dismissing the argument as more 'Twinsanity'.

"Son," Stoick said, slipping over to Hiccup when he had a free moment. "Come here a minute, let me look at you."

"Not much to look at," Hiccup said dryly, though he was not feeling very humorous.

"Still, I like to see what my son looks like now. And I was wondering—how come you didn't have us celebrate your birthday last winter?"

"Heather's just found out Dagur's her brother; she's going through an emotion crisis right now, and you come to ask me about _that_?"

"What do you want me to do?" Stoick demanded, "I hardly even know the girl! This is something she's gonna have to sort out herself, and I want to know something about my son. What's wrong with that?"

Hiccup shrugged. "I forgot about it, all right? I haven't really celebrated it in over a decade."

"I suppose dragons don't celebrate birthdays, do they?"

"Nope." And speaking of celebrating, Hiccup wondered if Valka had told Stoick the news of his engagement, but as soon as he wondered this, his face fell. He decided he had better talk to Astrid and make sure that was still happening. He could see Stormfly returning and he hobbled towards her, followed by Toothless.

"Heather, Fishlegs, and their dragons are coming to rejoin us," Astrid announced.

Hiccup held his shield in front of him. "Is it safe to talk to you now?"

"Very funny. Look, Hiccup—"

"Astrid, I'm sorry I didn't tell you about Heather, but I was telling the truth earlier. I completely forgot about my suspicions of her parentage until just recently,"

"Will you let me finish? I'm sorry for getting angry like that—and I know this is really minor compared to what Heather must be going through right now—but I just want to know I'm in your confidence! You keep things to yourself too much—and I know you usually have good reasons for it, but I don't want this kind of thing to become a habit! We won't have a successful marriage if we can't rely on each other to be honest and informative!"

"Astrid, I trust you with my life! I have many times. I did it today when I asked that Spitting Terror to give you my message! As for keeping things to myself—it _is_ a habit and it's been one since I was a child! You know that, and you know I've been working on it! But if you feel we won't have a successful marriage—are you saying you want to call it off?"

"What?" She exclaimed, "I'm just saying we need to commit ourselves to trusting each other more. Let's not jump to drastic conclusions!"

"So you still want to marry me?" he asked, a wave of relief flooding over him. He lowered the shield.

"I should punch you for daring to even think of questioning it,"

He raised the shield. "Just don't knock me into a cockroach pile," he shuddered.

"I should punch Snotlout for that too!"

" **I'm very glad she's not a dragon** ," Toothless remarked, " **Can you imagine how dangerous she'd be if she could breathe fire**?"

"Here they come," Hiccup observed. He sat down in the sand. "And Heather looks more at ease than she did earlier."

"And here comes your mother," Astrid pointed. "And mine too,"

" **As if this day doesn't have enough family drama already** ," Toothless mumbled, " **all we need now is for my own sire to show up** ,"

" **That would be interesting, to say the least**." Stormfly agreed.

Greta strode towards them, while Valka approached cautiously. "How're you feeling?" she asked at last.

"Well enough," Hiccup replied, "And Astrid—I noticed you're not shouting as loudly as before."

"My ears _are_ improving a bit," she acknowledged, "They'll be perfect by the time we get back to Berk. Speaking of which, mom, how'd you get here? You don't have a dragon! Or were you making friends while we were gone?"

"No, though perhaps I should've. The house was pretty lonesome without you. The Chief was kind enough to let me ride with him on Skullcrusher," Greta replied as she examined her daughter's ears.

"Mom, my ears are fine,"

"Just let me look them over—"

Hiccup looked back at his own mother. "So…did you fly Mala to Berk?"

"Yes. I knew of nowhere else to take her." she shifted her weight, "was it the wrong thing to do?"

"Actually, I'm impressed," Hiccup said genuinely. "How did Dad react?"

Valka blushed.

"Oh, I see! Well, that figures." It made sense Stoick would be more forgiving than he had been. He had always venerated Valka so much. Hiccup had too, but his had been an image of a mother he had never known. Such an image was easily displaced because it had no factual basis. He wondered if Heather was feeling the same way he had when they met Valka for the first time. Probably not, since she looked more cheerful. Whatever Fishlegs was telling her seemed to be working as a distraction.

Of course, whatever the distraction was, it could only avoid the facts, not change them. And the fact was it was not easy learning about an undiscovered family. He and Heather had both learned that on this trip, but all things considered, he had been more fortunate of the two. He decided he had held a grudge and wallowed in self pity long enough.

He struggled his way to get on his feet. "Thanks, mom. Thanks for helping us."

And he let her hug him. And he hugged her back. And then Toothless tried to force his way into the hug and unintentionally separated them, which made Hiccup fall over again. Everyone laughed as Valka helped him up.

"Looks like I'm getting a real mother-in-law after all, girl," Astrid said, petting her dragon.

Stoick had joined them just as she spoke. "What did you say, lass?"

"Yeah, what was that?" Greta Hofferson asked cannily.

"Hiccup? Do you wanna tell them or shall I?"

Snotlout was in a bad mood. He had watched Fishlegs fly back with Heather and felt a twinge of jealousy. Then he saw Hiccup hugging Valka and felt a cramp of jealousy. Then he saw Hiccup hugging Astrid and the cramp became a spasm, and then he saw the Chief come over, laughing happily at the sight, and the spasm became a fever of jealousy. His whole body burned with it. And all the while, he was stuck watching stupid prisoners!

Most, like Eret and Ryker, were sitting sullenly. Dagur was still gagged, so at least he was not a nuisance. Viggo, however, was by far the most perfect prisoner. He had not complained at all, had obeyed every command given to him, and sat perfectly still, as if to say he had no intention of attempting to escape.

"I'm sorry," he said unexpectedly. It took Snotlout a moment to realize who he was talking to.

"Sorry? Sorry about what?"

"I'm sorry to see you so distressed."

"I'm not distressed!"

"Forgive me, but I thought you were."

"Well you thought wrong."

"Actually, I think not, and I'm sorry for it. I know what it feels like, Snotlout. I know what it's like to not be loved."

"Do you?" Snotlout asked doubtfully.

"My father always favored Ryker the most," Viggo said sadly, "Ryker came first and was always the best fighter of us. Nothing I ever did was good enough for my father. He never really appreciated my true talents. But then again, nobody did at first,"

"That sounds more like Hiccup than it does me,"

"Does it? It doesn't seem that way now. I don't see Hiccup looking underappreciated. I see his parents looking at him proudly, I see his lovely wife-to-be hugging him, I see his best friend licking and nuzzling him…while his own cousin sits over here with only prisoners for company."

"All right, sure, he looks happy, but he's earned it," Snotlout said, "I mean…after all those years where his dad only paid attention to him when he messed up and when people bullied him, he's earned the right to a few good years, wouldn't you say?"

"Oh absolutely. But haven't you earned such a reward as well? Hognose told me you and your father fought shortly before he died, and that your mother died a long time ago. He told me you always wanted to marry Astrid. And from what I've seen, you and your dragon do not seem to have the same kind of bond your cousin has."

"What are you getting at?" Snotlout asked suspiciously.

"I'm merely wondering why Hiccup should get everything that you've lost,"

Snotlout looked warily at him but kept listening.

"Tell me, Snotlout, does Hiccup treat you well?"

"Of course he does!"

"Oh. I'm glad to hear it. I was under the impression he never takes you into his confidence, or trusts any assignments to your special abilities,"

"Of course he—" but Snotlout had to pause. The fact was, throughout this trip he had been getting the feeling Hiccup did not trust him and deliberately kept him out of things. "Well…he's secretive by habit. You must've heard Astrid earlier—he keeps things close to the chest most of the time."

"Yet couldn't he trust _you_ with important secrets? Could he not trust and involve his own cousin more than others?" Viggo stroked his bead. "I wonder why they let Fishlegs go look for Heather and not you. Surely a Monstrous Nightmare would be the better choice than a Gronkle for a potentially long search…but then again, perhaps they don't want you around Heather,"

"What?"

"Perhaps they've made up their minds Fishlegs would be a better suitor and want to keep you away from her."

Snotlout did not deny he and Fishlegs had had a small rivalry over Heather, but he had never thought that the others might take sides.

But then he shook his head vigorously. "No. The Chief doesn't care who romances who, and he appointed me here, not Hiccup. Hiccup may have…a lot more family than I've got now, but he trusts me even after all I've done to him. He gave me another chance, and I'm not betraying it—especially because a known enemy of ours tells me to. Now don't say another word or I'll gag you too."

Viggo nodded and remained a perfect mute. He knew the seed had been planted, and trusted that in time it would be nurtured and grow. Thoughts at times were a person's worst enemy. Suspicious thoughts could perceive connections that did not actually exist, turn the slightest gesture into an act of sinister meaning, misinterpret the most innocent words, and make the smallest problem become immense and personal. Unchecked thoughts could drive people to destroy themselves and those around them. He did not intend that this alone would bring about the end of Berk and the Dragon King—he certainly was not going to rely solely on Snotlout's thinking. It was simply a small investment that might pay off nicely later on, but if it did not he did not lose anything significant.

He paused a minute with his thoughts. Bring about the end of Berk and the Dragon King? Was that truly necessary? He pushed the doubts aside. Certainly it was necessary. The Dragon King stood in the way of his business. Did not people remove rocks so they could put a road in place? Hiccup, the Dragon King, was one of those rocks in his road to success, and since Hiccup was from Berk, Berk would have to be removed as well, somehow. And it would be their fault for getting in his way.

How he would get free, he did not know yet. But he would watch and wait. Being a good businessman meant being an opportunist. And he was a good businessman.


	21. Chapter 21

**Chapter 21**

 **The Wedding**

 **Author's Note:**

 **I was very excited to write this chapter, and my intention was to portray a Viking wedding as realistically as possible. I apologize in advance if I got anything wrong.**

The summer months were drawing to a close on Berk. The harvest time would soon begin and then another winter would come. Night had fallen and the Vikings were in Mead Hall having a meeting, led primarily by Mildew. Gobber would have liked to clobber the man and tell him to shut up, but he had to be as impartial as he could and let Mildew state his opinions, lest he be accused of favoritism.

The dragons present were much less tolerant and hissed at his words.

"It's been _weeks_ since the Chief left!" Mildew yelled in his gnarly cankerous voice, "Weeks! They could all be dead fer all we know!"

"It's so touching you care, Mildew!" someone shouted.

"Oh be-leave me, ah care _very_ much if 'Iccup lives or dies! An' 'ere we are, an' winter will be on us in a few months! We need ta prepare! An' where's our Chief? Where's our 'eir? Oo's gonna control them dragons now? Oo's gonna run things if they don't come back? They've been gone fer far too long now! An' fer what? Some favor to some tribe run by a _woman_!" A number of women in the hall growled in offense at this.

"I wouldn't call it a waste of time!" One shouted, "And keep your offensive comments to yourself, Mildew, they might hear you!" The Defenders had arrived about a week after the Chief had left, and spent all their time either with their recovering Queen or on their ship. While both sides had maintained a healthy respect and courtesy for the other, both sides had also kept their distance.

Gobber spoke up. "An' our law is very clear: if anythin' 'appens ta the Chief's entire family so they can't rool, the Gods will select a new Chief and send the message through the Elder." Gothi was in her hut looking after Mala and other patients.

" **Certainly they wouldn't choose** _ **you**_ **, old grumpy pants**!" A dragon laughed.

"An' 'ow are we gonna know if anythin' 'appened ta the Chief and 'is useless 'eir?" Mildew asked angrily.

" **He's NOT useless**!" all the dragons roared.

"How dare you call him that!"

"He saved us all from Drago! He's helped rebuild Berk in ways none of us would have dreamed of!"

"He forgave us after all we did to him!"

"He ended a three century war! And introduced me to my Gronkle Malady and helped show me how to ride her!"

"An' 'e's been _neglectin'_ Berk fer a while!" Mildew shouted back.

"He's got a point," One brave soul said. He got a lot of jeers for his support. "Hear me out! The fact is Hiccup's been gone a long time, along with the other riders, and now the Chief and the 'A' Team have been gone for some time too! Doesn't anybody else think that maybe this shouldn't be happening? That maybe our Chief and future-Chief have acted a little irresponsibly?"

Some conceded the wisdom in that, but most shrugged and said "it won't happen again,"

"An' wot are we gonna do fer the comin' winter?" Mildew yelled, "Wid-out someone ta control them beasts they'll run rampant and take our food! Maybe the Chief an' eir' 'ave left us ta die! What're we gonna do?"

"How about stop complaining and start stocking up?"

Everyone startled. Standing in the doorway was Hiccup.

He looked quite tired and dirty, but excited. Behind him were his friends and family, human and dragon. They were looking into the hall to better see what was going on.

Mildew was struck speechless, but the expression on his face said quite clearly "Ohhhhh dear,"

"Hello Berk. Do please go on, Mildew. I'm sure we'd all love to hear more about how we've left you all to die." Hiccup smirked. People laughed. "Well, everyone, we're back at last, and we haven't returned empty handed either."

Now the travelers made their way into the hall and several of them carried in chests, some of which were filled with gold and silver.

"Where on earth—" someone exclaimed.

"Presents from our guests, the Dragon Hunters of the Archipelago," Snotlout announced happily. "We offered to watch their goods for them while they had their hands full with being captives!"

Indeed they had. After they left the desert they had located the ships the Hunters had used and plundered them.

Stoick came in right behind them, beaming at his villagers, who let out a loud cheer. Behind him came Valka, Skullcrusher, and Cloudjumper. One by one the Riders and their dragons came in, all as happy as ever. The only person absent was Heather. She was with Queen Mala in Gothi's hut. Windshear had stayed with the dragons at Heather's suggestion.

The newly returned at once began mingling with their friends and family members. An impromptu party was in the making. Old Mildew and his complaints were quickly forgotten.

"And look at these," After hugging Gobber tightly, Hiccup showed him some of the weapons he had picked up. "Say what you will about those hunters, but their weapons are first class."

"Fine pieces," Gobber acknowledged, "Ah think we could replicate 'em. Oh, an' by the way, 'Iccup, ah've got a new apprentice!"

Hiccup was less than thrilled. "Oh?"

"Aye! Spittle, c'mere!" A young boy came over and looked at Hiccup with a mixture of awe and nervousness. "Spittle, ah think ya know 'Iccup—'Iccup, meet me new apprentice, Spittle Alfsson,"

The boy nodded stiffly and Hiccup responded in kind. Spittle quickly went back to his father.

" **Spittle** ," Hiccup mumbled, " **The Egyptians had a name meaning 'Living Image of Amun,' the Romans, 'Venerable,' the Spanish, 'Sweet,' and we name kids after spit, snot, and hiccups. With a mindset like this, no wonder it took us 3 centuries to end a war**."

" **And you name your dragons after dental conditions**!" Toothless grinned.

Hiccup went over to join Astrid, who was with her mother. "It's great to be home," Astrid smiled.

"Yep. Our enemies are locked up, your hearing is almost healed, my leg has been mended somewhat," he had used Meatlug and Stormfly to improvise a forge to make his leg usable again, similar to when he had built his very first prosthetic, "we've got the Eye safe and sound, brought back a bit of money, found my long lost mother, and Mala seemed to be recovering when we visited her. All things considered, I'd say this was a successful trip!"

"I shudder to think how dirty the house will be!" Greta moaned.

Hiccup had only sat just down when he had to stand up again. He had spotted Silent Sven rolling in a barrel of mead. "Hold it, Sven! No mead tonight! We've gotta save it!"

There was a huge uproar. Hiccup could hardly have said anything more unpopular. And the question everybody had for him was "Save it for what?"

Hiccup grinned and put his hands on Astrid's shoulders. "For our wedding of course!"

Later that night Valka was in the main room of the Haddock house. The last time she was in there she had really only had time to observe Hiccup's room. She was pleased to observe the dragon trophies had all been removed.

Stoick came in looking excited. Hiccup was right behind him. "Well, we've arranged for a date and begun the formalities with Greta Hofferson! Letters are going out tomorrow. Ah, it's good to be home!" he threw himself into his chair and rubbed the arms fondly. Hiccup made his way upstairs with his travel bag.

Stoick looked at his wife uncertainly. "Um…the bed's still the same, you know, so if you need a place to…you know, sleep at night…because you'll need one since you're staying and it would be perfectly alright if you should sleep with your husband, and—"

"Stoick, you're rambling," Valka chuckled. "And of course I'll sleep here. I imagine it'll be the best bed I've had in years."

Suddenly they heard a loud screech from upstairs. "AUGH! WHAT HAPPENED TO MY ROOM?"

Stoick looked at Valka. "Did we put his drawings and maps away before we left to find him?"

"Um…no? Oh bother."

"LEAVE IT TO PARENTS TO MAKE A MESS AND FORGET TO CLEAN IT UP!" Hiccup yelled down at them. "Sheesh, it's gonna take me days to get this reorganized!"

"Welcome home, son!" Stoick yelled back.

"All right everyone, pay up," Fishlegs ordered.

Snotlout and the Twins reluctantly handed him some coins. "They aren't married yet!" Snotlout protested, "There's still a chance one of them will chicken out!"

Tuffnut hit him on the head. "Never use that expression again! But at the same time, he's right. You only win the bet once they're _married_ , Fish!"

"Do you really think Hiccup or Astrid is gonna back out of this now?" Fishlegs asked smugly, "face it, I win!"

"We didn't think he had a chance back in those days!" Ruffnut insisted, "We were 15 years old! It's not fair! And we didn't think you'd remember it nearly 10 years later!"

Not long after an infamous Nadder training day, where Hiccup and Astrid had been teased about 'love on the battlefield', the other four trainees had placed bets on whether or not they would get married. Fishlegs had been the only one to have faith in Hiccup's courtship abilities. And now, though the wedding had yet to take place, he wanted his money.

Everybody would have liked to have had the wedding at once, but the preparations had been enormous. A large scale wedding was customary, but as this was the marriage of Berk's heir, it was also a major diplomatic event. The leading members from virtually every Viking tribe in the Archipelago had been invited to attend, and while most had dragons of their own, they were compelled to come by ship, as a ship could also serve as lodgings once they reached Berk, at least for the lower ranking Vikings. There simply was not enough room on the island for so many to stay comfortably, and adding dragons to the mix would push space and supplies past the limit. Thankfully it was nearing the time of harvest, so there was ample food. Dragons and fisherman were out at sea day and night filling nets, and the mead makers were working overtime to fill more barrels than the carpenters initially had available.

One by one, guests arrived. The first to come were the Bog Burglars, Berk's closest and best ally. They both aided the preparations and hindered them, with their penchant for stealing things. Camicazi especially seemed to be having the time of her life. Berk was being decked out with all kinds of floral decorations, and she would help put some up, pick someone's pocket, run around for a few minutes before returning the contents, run over to find a friend and talk with them for an hour, and start over.

Little was seen of Astrid or Hiccup during this time, for both were largely confined to their homes. When Stoick had the time, which was very seldom, he would talk to Hiccup about his upcoming duties as a husband, father, and Chief. These conversations seldom lasted long, for some new problem would come to Stoick's attention and he would be out the door again, often not returning for hours. He and Valka were throwing themselves entirely into the preparations, and it was rare for either of them to be in the house for longer than an hour at a time. And even when they were in the house, they could still discuss every aspect of the wedding, down to the colors of Hiccup's bootlaces.

It was essentially the same situation for Astrid. She stayed at home and every now and then her mother would give her lectures on motherhood and how to be a Chief's wife. For Hiccup, the lectures had been mostly a waste of time; he believed and hoped he would make a good husband and he did not care too much about what tradition said or what something symbolized. As for Astrid, she followed her mother's every word carefully. She was going to prove to everybody that she was the perfect choice for Hiccup's bride and she was going to set new standards for a wife's proper conduct. On top of that, she honored Viking tradition much more than Hiccup did, so when she had gone to the bath-house the night before for the ritual washing and purification, she treated it with as much respect as a solemn Rite of Passage was due. When Hiccup took his bath, a while later of course, he took it solemnly but carried an air as if to say 'let's get this over with'. For him, Viking traditions were respected but could be broken when the situation required it. For Astrid, at least in this case, Viking traditions were to be followed without question.

These opinions had also been demonstrated with their confinement to their homes. Astrid stayed put without complaining. Stormfly accepted the situation as inevitable but temporary, and went flying without a rider. Toothless and Hiccup, on the other hand, nearly went crazy being cooped up inside all the time, and after a few days they broke out and made it a habit of flying every sunrise and sunset. When someone complained that this disrespected traditions, Hiccup retorted that Astrid marrying a lunatic would be even more disrespectful and he would become one if he did not go flying.

Other tribes had arrived soon after the Bog Burglars. Among others came the Owl Guts, the Lava Louts, the Murderous tribe, the Hysterical tribe, the Berserkers, and the Meatheads. Some of these tribes were only invited for diplomatic reasons; Hiccup certainly had no interest in seeing Mogadon the Meathead, Madguts the Murderous, or the Berserkers and their new Chief Scolder the Boulder, and he knew they did not want to see him, but they would have felt snubbed if their tribes had not been invited. Hiccup knew both men had been offered positions with Drago Bludvist, and might have joined up had Bludvist been more successful, and he knew that they only had accepted dragons to match the military strength of other tribes.

Mogadon had also brought his son Thuggory. Since Hiccup was confined to his room, Snotlout was given the task of keeping Thuggory entertained. Camicazi had volunteered for the job, but Thuggory had quickly agreed to go with Snotlout.

"That girl's always trying to embarrass me!" he muttered to Snotlout, "I swear, she's feistier than a dragon and as dangerous as the Scourge of Odin!"

"And very beautiful!" Snotlout added brightly.

"No argument there," Thuggory grinned. They entered Snotlout's house. It was very messy but neither of them minded. "So, you live alone now?"

"Just me and Hookfang, yeah," The Nightmare was sleeping in the other half of the room.

Thuggorgy flopped himself down into a chair. "No other visitors? No ladies slipping in for the night?"

"No, but Gustav Larsen and some other guys are coming by tonight. We're having a party,"

"For the wedding? Is Hiccup coming?"

"Nope." The party was going to be in the mold of a funeral wake, to lament the loss of Astrid as an eligible maiden. It had been Gustav's idea. And it was a most pitiful event. Except for Thuggory, who watched with amusement, everyone present bawled like little babies as they repeatedly toasted Astrid and dwelt on the romantic lives she would never have with any them.

"Oh, Astrid, how could she do this to us?" Gustav moaned drunkenly. The others nodded sadly. "Poor Astrid. Gone to marry Hiccup!"

"A slave for life to—hic!—to the mistake of a runt!"

"WAHHHH!"

"Forced to live with him instead of me!"

"It's not fair! I mean, what has he got that we ain't got?" Snotlout half yelled, half slobbered.

"A metal leg?"

"Metal legs aren't everything! And even if they were, what are we supposed to do about it?"

Thuggory held up an axe. Everyone around him blanched at the implication.

"What _else_ has he got that we ain't got?"

The Twins were not present at this little party, because they had their own visitor. Their cousin Gruffnut had arrived late that day, and Tuffnut was busily engaged in showing him around.

"Think of all the explosions you guys could pull off now that I'm here!" he grinned. His voice sounded part human and part frog.

"Tell me about it!" Tuffnut said dreamily, "But those darn chiefs of ours only let us blow stuff up for special events!"

"Does this count as a special event?"

"You'd better believe it!" They 'high-fived' each other. "It's great to see you again, coz! It's been—how long?"

"Who cares?" Gruffnut asked idly, "Life's too short to worry about dates,"

"So what have you been doing all this time, anyway?"

Gruffnut's parents had been killed in dragon raids a long time ago. Shortly afterwards Gruffnut had run away to sea. Ever since, his visits to Berk had been highly infrequent, to the point where most people except Tuffnut seldom thought about him. And while Tuffnut practically worshiped his adventurous cousin, he seldom brought him up anymore because he had found that nobody else was interested. Ruffnut in particular had gotten sick of hearing about Gruffnut and had bashed her brother's head enough times for him to take the hint.

"Oh, I've retired from the travels for a little bit. Gave all my money away to the poor folks, so I've been staying at a Tavern and earning a bit jousting. Or at least I did until I hurt my leg in the last tournament." With those words he began limping.

"THAT IS SO AWESOME! I must get Hiccup to install dragon jousting here!"

"Since when does Hiccup the Fishbone have any say in Berk's entertainment?"

"He's the Chief's son and the authority on Dragons," Tuffnut replied simply.

Gruffnut snorted. "Authority on dragons? Yeah, right."

"Oh, he's not what he used to be, cousin! He's the Dragon King!"

Gruffnut nearly fell over from laughing too hard. "Hiccup the Fishbone? The guy who couldn't walk two steps without tripping over his own feet? _Him_? _He's_ the Dragon King? And I suppose Fat Old Fishy is the Dragon Chamberlain and Snotty's the Dragon Court Jester!"

"You always did have a way with words, Gruff,"

"Yes he did!" Ruffnut growled. She was as unhappy to see her cousin as her brother was to see him. "And I suggest, Gruffnut, you show a bit more respect now, or else Hiccup the 'Fishbone' might just lock you up!"

"I can escape from anything," Gruffnut said smugly. "I've probably broken out of a dozen prisons so far."

"Oh yeah? How? Keep a picklock in your fake leg, do you?" Ruffnut jeered.

"Well now that you mention it—I don't have a fake leg,"

"No, but if you keep it up, you might need one. But since this week is about Hiccup and Astrid, I won't upstage them with anything exciting or dangerous." And she walked away.

"Tough old goat, our Ruffnut, isn't she?"

"You have no idea," Tuffnut said.

Frīge's Day came at long last. Hiccup had been up long before sunrise and had spent the time pacing back and forth, to the annoyance of Toothless.

" **Will you cut that out? Go back to sleep**!" The dragon grumbled as he rolled over on his slab.

" **How can I sleep now**?" Hiccup asked in an unnaturally high voice, " **What if it rains? What if someone attacks us? What if I trip and make a fool of myself, or break a leg or something? I can just see the Gods up there thinking 'what kind of fun can we have with our friend Hiccup today**?'"

" **This is why I'm glad I don't believe in gods** ," Toothless muttered. " **Look, you're gonna be fine! You won't trip and I won't let you get attacked, and I don't smell any rain coming, so** _ **relax**_ **! It'll be great!** "

Hiccup went back to pacing. " **Man, I can't believe I'm about to do this, Bud! Just think—if someone had told me a year ago I'd be marrying Astrid I'd have called them crazy! And yet it's happening! It's happening**!"

" **I know it is. I've only heard it about 20 times a day for the past two weeks or so**." Toothless said, half ruefully and half jokingly. The truth was he was delighted to see his human so happy and excited.

Hiccup looked down at his hands as if he had never looked over them before. " **I tell you Bud, I don't know how much more excited I can get now! I wish you could get the chance to experience what I'm feeling, you know**?"

" **Here we go again**." Toothless grumbled. " **You know as well as I do we've never seen another Night Fury, let alone a female**."

" **Have you ever considered maybe mating with a different species**? **It's not unheard of, you know** ,"

" **Yes I have, and the mere thought of it disgusts me more than eels. No, Brother, if I don't mate with a Night Fury I won't mate with anyone.** "

" **Well, maybe we'll find them on our next trip**."

" **You've said that many times**." Toothless sighed. " **Maybe I really am the last of my kind**. **Wait a minute—** _ **next**_ **trip**?"

" **Sure! We've got the Dragon Eye and all the lenses, haven't we? We can use it to find the Isle of Night and go take a look for ourselves! Not right now, probably not until after Thawfest, though it'll depend on where this place is**."

" **And your father's gonna allow that? And Mala will let us use the Eye?"**

" **We'll wait until they're in very good moods before we ask, of course** ,"

Toothless thought a moment and then shook his head. " **Well, worry about it later, and don't think about Night Furies today. Today is for you and your mate, and she won't like it if you show up looking like a nervous wreck. So settle down and get some sleep**!"

Hiccup sat down next to his dragon and stopped talking. He listened to the sounds of the night outside and was just about to drop off, when his father came in.

"Sunrise, son. Time to get goin'"

Hiccup had wanted the wedding to take place at Raven Cove but there was not enough room. A grove in the woods was the traditional place for weddings, and even that was almost not big enough, given how it had to accommodate a vast amount of dragons. For most of the dragons this was the first wedding they had ever seen, and they were curious about it.

The day was perhaps one of the last calm and sunny ones Berk would see that year. With the sunlight reverently slipping through the gaps in the trees, the morning felt fresh and brisk. The air was chilly, but not unpleasantly so, and the breeze was just enough to make cheeks and noses turn a little red but no more. The grass was covered in dew, the ground was wet and muddy, and there were fallen needles and cones everywhere. But shafts of sunlight came down and illuminated the dewdrops, dried the mud somewhat, and enhanced the red and yellow shades of the debris on the ground. Of in the distance on the coast, where seagulls could be heard calling, a short wall of cool gray clouds was visible.

Hiccup and his family were in the grove first, but the two Hofferson's soon joined them. Hiccup could not recall ever seeing Astrid look so beautiful. Her bridal crown was woven from straw and orange roses, with the thorns cut off. It matched and yet stood out against her golden hair. She had put on her most formal clothes, which he had hardly ever seen her in. Hiccup was also dressed in his own nicest clothes. Attached to his belt was his preferred blacksmith hammer, to represent Thor. He thought it also symbolized the way his heart was hammering. In his hands he held a sword once owned by one of his great grandfather. Sometimes these swords were stolen from graves, but in this case the sword was a family heirloom kept on a wall in Mead Hall, so Stoick had ordered Skullcrusher to take it and hide it on a nearby island for Hiccup to find during one of his sunset flights. Astrid brought a sword as well, a brand new one which looked more for ceremony than for battle. But it was true, Hiccup reflected, Inferno did not make a good ceremonial sword as usually only the hilt was visible.

She and Hiccup came together at the center of the grove and formally turned to face the far end. As the village elder, Gothi was the one to perform most of the marriage Rites. First there was the sacrifice of a boar to the Gods, provided by the Twins. The blood was then sprinkled on the couple and those nearest them. The grove was so silent during this they could hear the birds whistling in the nearby trees.

Next Astrid and Hiccup exchanged the swords they held. They solemnly recited oaths of fidelity to each other, the Gods, and tradition, the promise of protecting their family's honor, legacy, and each other, and a pledge from one to bring the other a fruitful and prosperous family. Gothi then held raised her staff, evoking another prayer to the Gods for prosperity. Gobber had no need to translate Gothi's writings for this, as the words had been created long ago and everyone already knew them. It was just as well for Gobber, because his eyes had grown so teary he could not have read anything if his life had depended on it. Nor was he the only one to get teary eyed or moved by what was happening.

"I thought I'd never see this day," Valka whispered to Stoick.

"Me neither, as a matter of fact," he admitted.

After the vows the two exchanged rings. Astrid's ring had belonged to her father, while Hiccup's had belonged to Valka once. Stoick had put it away for years with the specific intent of using it for this occasion. As neither ring fit on its new owner's finger they were attached to chains so the couple might wear them around the neck.

Then at long last, they held the swords before them and recited a new set of vows. Gothi than raised her staff once again to call upon a final blessing from the Gods, and brought her staff down on the ground to symbolize the end of the ceremony.

Now that the ceremony was over, everyone at once rushed over to Mead Hall to begin celebrating. It took some effort for Hiccup and Astrid to get inside, as the doorway got so crowded. Both of them almost fell at different points, but were caught just in time. Then Hiccup went over to one of the pillars in the hall and slammed his new sword into it. A loud cheer went up and Berkians came rushing through the kitchen door carrying the largest trays of food and drink possible. A Gronkle pulled in a small wagon covered with plates and knives and goblets.

There were mountains of smoked fish, roasted beef, boar, yak, and mutton. Barrels full of bright red apples were brought in. There were yellow and white cheeses, piles of vegetables like carrots and beans, trays full of hot steaming rolls, honey from beehives, and was enough mead and wine and ale and yaknog to make a river. And Hiccup and Astrid never actually got to taste any of it, apart from a drink during a goblet sharing ritual. _Everybody_ wanted to come up to them, to shake hands, offer congratulations and gifts, and ask what their plans were. This went on for so long that their arms became numb, their throats grew sore, and their food sat untouched on their plates.

Conversations were almost impossible to have due to all the noise. Plates were scrapped with knives, toasts were proposed left and right, songs broke out, people cried, others shouted jokes, and it went on and on for hours. Everybody had come to have a good time and they made the most of it. Toothless later said without exaggerating that at no point during the entire feast was somebody not laughing. It was about as happy a feast as anybody on Berk could remember, except for one thing: a complaint was raised that, amidst all the immense and diverse piles of vittles there were no eels and no chickens.

Stoick had had a bit too much to drink and was yelling loudly "Well, I can show my face in public again!" This prompted laughter and made Toothless to scowl.

" **Does he always need to start like that**?" he muttered.

"I admit, back in those days when Hiccup was a…well, a hiccup, I worried how he'd carry on the family name. I mean, no girl ever looked twice at him back then! I always thought I'd have to arrange everything and they'd be the most unequal couple in history! Like—remember that time we were considering marrying him to Marva the Larva?" His audience howled with laughter. Hiccup would have buried his face in his hands if he could actually have heard any of this. Toothless and Valka were both furious and only kept quiet because they did not want to cause a scene. "But here we are!" Stoick went on, "And I didn't have to arrange it, I didn't have to choose the bride, and he didn't make his choice out of desperation or choose someone because everyone else said 'no'! Nope, he went for the very best Berk had to offer and he won her despite all his former disadvantages! And nobody here today is more proud than I am. And I am so very happy to say how wrong I was to have had all those doubts about him."

Now Toothless wished Hiccup could have heard this.

The day wore on and night began to fall. By that point, most of the Vikings had passed out drunk or were sleeping soundly on the ground. Mead Hall and the ships in the harbor sounded like a chorus of lumber mills. It was a commonplace occurrence at these events, one the dragons always found hilarious. No dragon was drunk. They seldom ever touched alcohol.

But not everyone was sleeping or passed out. Fishlegs was talking with Heather, mostly pointing out who was who. She nearly spat out her wine when he pointed out King Sweyn of Denmark and his entourage, who had arrived only just before the ceremonies had commenced.

"You never told me you knew an actual king!"

"Sure," Fishlegs replied, happy to impress her, "we helped him out last year during a peasant revolt and we've been exchanging letters and goods ever since."

The wine had made Heather a bit looser than usual and she eagerly asked him to tell her what had happened.

"Well, Hiccup was hoping to integrate dragons in an actual country, not just a tribe, so we'd been writing letters for a while and were invited to come spend—I forget what they call it, Chris-Mass or something. Some big holiday they have. Anyway, peasants were starving that winter due to crop failures, and some nobleman wanted more power so he used their hunger to get them to rebel. So we went to see these rebels under a flag of truce, and Hiccup had a few dragons go off and bring back nets full of cod and gave it to them. I then gave them the figures for the harvests on Berk before and after dragons aided us—it's a substantial difference, you know—and before you know it every farmer wanted a dragon to help them and from what we've heard, only the idle will be going hungry this winter. So, we ended a revolt without shedding any blood—except the nobleman's, probably—and King Sweyn's been pretty excited about dragons ever since."

Heather was impressed. "That's wonderful!"

"Yeah. They weren't evil, you know. The rebels I mean. They just wanted enough to eat. Once we showed them dragons could help them grow more food, they were perfectly willing to listen." Not as stubborn as Vikings, he added mentally.

"Most people would have said 'we put down the revolt in a great battle'." Heather said, "But you're not 'most people', are you?"

Now Fishlegs nearly spat out his wine. She spoke so warmly and looked so lovely he could not help it. He began to wonder about the chances of his own wedding.

Cloudjumper was surveying the hall in disgust and upbraiding Skullcrusher for letting things get become so undignified, which Skullcrusher ignored. Toothless and Stormfly had left a while earlier, muttering something about spending the night hunting for dragon nip fields. Valka had pulled Stoick outside hours ago, before he could drink any more, and it was a few hours before they had returned to the Hall. Stoick was still a little tipsy, but in control of himself.

"I haven't had that much in years," he muttered bitterly. "But once I got going I just couldn't stop. I've gotta watch that."

Hiccup and Astrid at last thought they might get something to eat, though the food was cold and stale now. But then Tuffnut pulled his cousin Gruffnut over to them.

"Hey Hiccup! Astrid! Remember my cousin Gruffnut?"

Hiccup smiled and shook hands but then Tuffnut dragged his cousin away to talk to someone else.

"Didn't Gruffnut shut you in a barrel full of Pollock heads last time he was here?"

"I don't want to think about it on our wedding day," he said quickly. He saw Queen Mala come over to them and asked "How are you feeling, you're Majesty?"

She noticed it was the first time he had ever called her that. "Well enough thank you. I came to offer my congratulations, and to thank you for bringing the Eye back, even if you did go considerably behind my back."

"Sorry about that,"

"It turned out to be fortunate for all of us. Heather has mentioned that you would like to know where the Isle of Night is located." Mala stared at him hard for a moment before resuming. "In that case, as a reward for your help, and as a wedding gift, I will allow you and your Original Riders to use the Dragon Eye once. Each of you may select any combination of lenses you wish, choose a dragon to breathe on the Eye, and examine whatever appears."

Hiccup wrung her hand so hard he almost squeezed it to a pulp. "Thank you! Thank you very much! And don't worry; we'll keep this to ourselves. Those hunters won't learn a thing!"

Mala wanted to discus more, but others were still waiting to see the newlyweds and she moved away, looking more touched than Hiccup or Astrid had ever seen.

When the time came, the newlyweds left their seats, their food still untouched, and made their way towards the Haddock house, accompanied by others. They had only just left Mead Hall when Hiccup spotted the Twins and rushed over to them. "Oh no, no, no! You point those fireworks _up_ , not at my house!"

"But it was gonna be so spectacularly cool!" Tuffnut pouted, "Gruffnut was going to be so impressed!"

Ruffnut had moaned at first, but at those words she promptly began repositioning the fireworks, and just in time. Stoick had come over to see what was going on.

"Were these two trying to blow up my house again?"

"Yes! I mean no!" the Twins said at the same time. They fell silent under the glare Stoick gave them. He shook his head and pointed to one in the company.

"You keep an eye on them. They can fire off those things, but you make sure they do it right!"

"But you can't do it now!" Astrid interrupted, "Ruff, we need you as a witness, remember?"

"Oh yeah. I forgot. Tuff, don't you dare start setting these off without me."

Dragons had no official legal status on Berk, so the marriage consummation witnesses had to be humans. This group of witnesses included their parents, Fishlegs, and Ruffnut. They took the newlyweds separately up to Hiccup's room by candlelight. Once everyone was in the room some prayers were recited, a form was signed by everyone present, for the legal records, and then the witnesses one by one exited after offering congratulations. Hiccup and Astrid were left alone together for the first time in weeks.

Their first reaction was to embrace and laugh with relief. It had finally happened! _Finally_! Hiccup was laughing almost to the point of tears and Astrid was laughing as she tried to keep him on his feet. Elderly folk like Mildew and Gothi would have been hard pressed to recall a time that two Berkians had laughed so hard and for so long.

But quickly they became nervously aware of what was supposed to happen next. They were not quite sure how exactly to go about doing it. Hiccup watched as Astrid's beaming expression turned to one of confusion and even shyness. Astrid Hofferson _shy_?

"So…um…." She gestured to the bed, "which side do you prefer?"

Hiccup scratched his head. He had never really had to think about this before. So, to avoid a long discussion he just shrugged and said "Left is fine,"

"All right," she said quickly, "Yeah, right is fine for me,"

"Yeah," But neither of them made any move towards the bed.

"Talk about awkward," Hiccup muttered to himself.

"Did your parents ever talk about… _this_ with you?" she asked carefully.

"Sort of. Did you and your mother?"

"Sort of."

Hiccup suddenly thought back to the time he was in China, where he had become friends with the Emperor. At one point, when discussing a possible marriage, the Emperor had told him that sex could be either a great experience or a miserable one. It largely depended on how you approached it. The Emperor, who had been no stranger to love making, said he always preferred to take it slow and gently; to begin with a kiss and let things happen naturally. Hiccup now wished he had asked him exactly how you let things happen naturally. He also wished he had talked about this more with his father or perhaps King Sweyn, who had fathered nearly 20 children out of wedlock.

Still, starting with a kiss did not seem like a bad idea.

He slowly approached Astrid and put his hands on both sides of her face. "You nervous?" he asked.

"A little," she admitted, "and if you tell anyone I said that I'll shove my axe down your throat!"

It was an unusual but adequate way of easing some of the tension and made them both smile. Then Hiccup leaned in and kissed her. She kissed back and wrapped her arms around him. They kissed again and again, parting for quick breathes, their kisses growing in passion. Astrid's hands darted back and forth, unable to decide whose shirt to remove first. She settled for hers and began to reveal her bare shoulders…

And suddenly Hiccup was not there anymore. He was locked in a cell. Adoncia was lying next to him, half naked, kissing his scarred back, running her hair over his cracked and bloodstained skin, and raising a whip to start lashing him again…

"Hiccup? Hiccup! HICCUP!" Astrid shouted. Hiccup now realized he was leaning against a bedpost, his hands covering his head, waiting for a flogging that was not going to come. Quickly and shakily he assumed an upright position.

"Nerves," he said with a weak smile. Astrid did not buy it.

"You were thinking of Adoncia and Spain," She said sharply, "I thought you'd gotten over those fits!"

"I thought I had too, for the most part," he mumbled. He sat down on the bed and Astrid joined him. "I'm sorry, Astrid—"

"Sorry for what?" she exclaimed, "sorry that a sex-crazed slut beat you and scarred you so badly you can't even stand to think about it? You didn't ask for any of that to happen!"

"I killed her, Astrid," he said hoarsely, "in cold blood, I killed her. I saw her balancing on a cliff and I kicked her into a river of lava. I had her at my mercy and I chose not to be merciful."

Astrid shook her head. "She deserved it. And it was kindness compared to what I would have done to her."

" _Did_ she deserve it? Do I have the right to make that decision?"

"Do you feel guilty about that fact that she died or the fact that you were the one who killed her?"

Hiccup thought a moment. "A little bit of both, I guess," he stood up and faced the wall. "And yet I can still see her in my mind. Even after her death she plagues me. Gods, am I _ever_ going to be free of these memories?"

"I'm glad you feel this way," Astrid said quietly. Hiccup turned around and looked at her incredulously. "Yes, I am. She would've killed you and laughed. She's killed hundreds and enjoyed it. You acting like this shows to me you have a conscience. It shows you're a better person than she ever was."

"And what about you?" he asked wildly, "You aren't sad in the slightest that I killed her! You said yourself you would have done worse to her and that she deserved to die! What does that say about you?"

Astrid considered her answer carefully. "Hiccup, I'm a warrior. Warriors live by a code. And when someone breaks that code, there are consequences. She broke that code, Hiccup. I wish it hadn't happened, but after all she did to Berk and to the Sanctuary, and to you, there was no possible fate for her except death. As cold as it may sound, that's the way things are to me. And I think it was fitting and proper that you were the one to finish her."

"It's a messed up world all right," he muttered.

"Hiccup, she made her decisions in life. I know you told me she was born unwanted and in the gutter, but don't forget she enjoyed what she did when she grew up. Can I feel sorry that after years of doing horrible things to innocent people her crimes finally caught up with her? No, my mercy doesn't extend that far. All the same…this was a particular case. I'd be furious with you if it had been someone else."

Hiccup nodded and sighed. "Just keep an eye on me, Astrid. I don't want to take another life if I can ever avoid it."

"And I'm glad I married such a person,"

"And I'm glad I'm married to _you_ , because if I didn't have you and Toothless for help, I don't know what I'd—"

Suddenly a loud series of explosions went off and made them jump.

"The Twins must've set off the fireworks," Hiccup laughed weakly, "They must be having the time of their lives right now." He went over to the window and removed the blinds. "Lots of sparks and colors. Beautiful in a random way. But very noisy. Thank goodness they've only got 10, or else nobody would be getting any sleep tonight."

"Remember when we used them against the Berserkers?" Astrid smiled, "when you first started making amends with your father and getting us to accept dragons?"

Hiccup did not answer and she realized he was thinking about being tortured on that adventure. He normally did not dwell on that but talking about Adoncia had awakened recollections of similar experiences.

She put a hand on his shoulder. "Hiccup, you have too many bad memories in your head. Maybe it's time to replace them with something happy,"

Hiccup smiled faintly. "I can't promise I won't have a fit again,"

"Then think about something instead of her, and maybe you won't. Focus on _me_ instead of your memories if you think it'll help,"

"I don't think that'll be too difficult now," Hiccup whispered. He gently pulled her towards him and they started kissing again.

Hours later, Hiccup woke up for no reason. He was suddenly aware that he was sharing the bed with someone. His wife. The most beautiful woman he had ever known, the only woman he had ever loved, and now she was his wife.

She was sleeping with her back to him. He reached a hand out and gently ran it down her long golden hair and traced the space between her shoulder blades. Her hair felt soft as silk and, amazingly for a warrior like her, her skin was remarkably smooth. He repositioned himself so he could wrap his arms around her and sleep with her in his embrace. It felt very warm and comforting and, dare he say it, natural.

"Odin," he whispered, "or Thor, or Freya, or whoever's up there: I know I've complained a lot about how much you don't like me…but if all those miserable years were preparation for this future, then I'm deeply grateful. Thank you for this. Thank you for her. And Astrid, I know you're asleep, but I love you so much, and I'll never stop loving you, no matter what happens."

He could not see it, but there was a smile on Astrid's face.


	22. Chapter 22

**I Own Nothing**

 **All Rights Reserved**

 **Chapter 22**

 **The Dragon Eye**

Naturally, the following morning _everybody_ wanted to know what had happened the night before. Much of this curiosity confused the dragons. They did not understand why it mattered how Hiccup satisfied was with Astrid in bed or vice versa, nor did they understand why all the humans were so interested in it.

Of course, the gossip and curiosity at times got out of hand. Everybody wanted details. Several of the young men who had admired Astrid from afar eagerly asked Hiccup what she looked like naked (Snotlout made the big mistake of asking that when Astrid's mother was nearby and discovered a violent similarity between mother and daughter). And women were already asking Astrid if she was pregnant.

Between responding to all the gossip and questions, however, was the ceremony for the Morning Gifts. Here Hiccup gave his wife a gold ring with a beautiful red stone.

"That ring was one of the reasons I waited so long," he explained, "remember the time you couldn't find the ring your father gave you?"

"Yes and—wait a minute! _You_ took it?"

"Well I didn't _take_ it—I just had a Terror _borrow_ it. I wanted measurements so I knew what size to make this one." He gestured to the ring he was wearing around his neck, which did not fit on his finger.

Astrid punched him in the shoulder. "Never steal any of my stuff again! Of course, I suppose you technically can't since it's your stuff too now."

"And my—'stuff' is yours too," Hiccup said, "'Stuff,' that isn't a very romantic word. Anyhow, I forged this ring at the Bog Burglar's island, and I'd finished it right before the Defenders showed up."

"Seriously though, Hiccup, couldn't you have just _asked_ me what ring size fits my finger?"

"Um…well, now that you mention it…"

"Typical," she muttered, "How can someone like you be so smart and still be so stupid?" She looked over her new ring, "Is this a ruby?"

"Diamond,"

"I didn't know diamonds came in red,"

"That's because they usually don't,"

"Where'd you get it then?"

"In India there was one royal woman who had a dragon racing champion for a lover. They were so confident in his winning streak they offered it as a prize for anyone who could beat him. They never expected they'd have to pay up. But Night Furies aren't called the Offspring of Lightning for nothing." He grinned.

She stared at him. "Hiccup…how valuable is this?"

"Remember when I told you that Drago took my prosthetic away the last time he captured me? I got the last laugh, because he never realized what he was holding contained a King's ransom in a secret compartment,"

Astrid gasped. "A king's—I can't possibly accept this. No, Hiccup, it's too valuable, it's too much, I'm not worth—"

"Is it too valuable that I can't give it to the most priceless woman I know?" he asked, kissing her on the forehead, "I've carried it all this time intending in the back of my mind to give it to my future wife. And all that time I hardly ever imagined she would be you," he slid it back onto her finger. "You needn't go boasting about it to everyone, of course, but I can't think of any place better for it than right here on your hand."

"It's hard to argue with you when you hold me like this," she said, "But my gift to you is going to seem incredibly inferior now,"

"I'll be the judge of that,"

Her gift to him left him speechless. It was a double bladed sword that could separate into two standard swords. The blades were retractable, though unlike Inferno they did not burst into flames. Hiccup had started designing this before they had gone after the Dragon Eye. He had never imagined his design would become a reality by someone else's hands.

"I didn't build them myself, of course," Astrid said apologetically, "Gobber did. I just watched and came up with the inlaid bits." The blades had the standard Viking runes for victory and protection inscribed on them, but also had 'H' runes running along them, (for Haddock and Hofferson, Astrid explained). One hilt was painted black and the other light blue, and inlaid in both was a flower design made of rose quartz and yellow topaz.

Hiccup was really touched. Not so much about getting new and beautiful weapons, but the fact that Astrid had taken one of his designs, added her own touches, and made it into a gift for him. It was quite a novelty and he told her so.

"Test it out," she urged him. His first efforts were clumsy. The blades worked fine as swords alone, but when he tried to connect them he kept putting the two ends together incorrectly.

Astrid observed his efforts with a professional eye. "Hmm. I'd say start with them connected and only one blade out, so it looks like a sword with a gigantic hilt. Then, when the opponent is in a vulnerable position, extend the other blade and then use it the swords like a quarterstaff. Then, if needed, separate the two for a further surprise and don't bother combining them again until the fight's over."

"It's a good starting point," Hiccup agreed, kissing her on the cheek, "Thank you, Astrid,"

She blushed. "I wanted to give you something practical for our way for life."

And Astrid was not the only person to give Hiccup a weapon for a gift that day. A while later, when Astrid was with her mother, Stoick came into Hiccup's room carrying a large box. It was evident he seemed a bit embarrassed and did not know where to start, because first he just stood around, looked at the walls and brought up largely irrelevant subjects. The last time he had ever given Hiccup a personal gift had been a helmet made from his mother's armor, and that had been nearly 10 years ago.

"We're having the wrestling matches after dinner tonight," Stoick said at length. "You and Astrid, of course, will just be spectators."

"Oh, right. Of course,"

"Yeah,"

"Yeah,"

"And Mala says she wants to see you soon. She wants to give you her wedding present. She asked to meet you at the Ingerman's house."

Hiccup nodded. He already knew this.

Stoick finally did the simple thing and handed him the box. Hiccup opened it and his eyebrows nearly rose into his hair.

Stoick shrugged apologetically. "You said your gauntlets got damaged on your journey, so I asked Gobber to make a new pair for you. Try them on. They've got a few new features, by the way." He handed Hiccup a small crossbow bolt. "The lower section is removable and there's a small crossbow mechanism inside. So you pull this spring back and push this button here to release it."

"Huh. So I have miniature crossbows on my wrists? That's pretty neat." Hiccup said, "Of course, I'll have to wait until the last minute to load it, or else I'll wear the springs out, and I probably won't be able to use them more than once in a fight but still…" he slowly dropped his analytical mindset and for a moment he felt he was once again just a kid spending a moment with his father. "Thanks Dad. Thanks a lot,"

And Stoick felt that he was once again a proud father looking at his boy. It was a feeling he had not had too much during his lifetime. "So…what are we going to do with your mother?"

"Is she going back to Greenland or staying here?"

"I don't really know. I don't think she quite knows herself." He looked at him imploringly. "Hiccup, I know you weren't too happy to meet her, and I know you think I forgave her a bit too easily, but I don't want her taken away from me again. Would you want that to happen to you and Astrid?"

"If Astrid decided to leave, for whatever reason, I would respect her decision. That being said, I wouldn't like it in the slightest." He sighed and shook his head. He got the hint that his father wanted him to talk to Valka. "So where is she now?"

He found Valka sitting on a rock in the woods. Cloudjumper was sitting in front of her, and the two were clearly having an argument.

"— **is to the Bewilderbeast, not to Berk**!"

" **So they can't get by without us**?" Valka retorted, " **We're not essential to—"** she realized they had company. "Oh hello, Hiccup! Cloudjumper and I were just having a little contest. No not a contest, I mean a con—con—"

"Contention?"

"Yes, that's the word." She shook her head. "I'm still having trouble with Norse here and there. So how's Astrid?"

Hiccup sat next to her. "She's fine,"

"Good, good…did you…well, 'enjoy' yourselves last night?" she smiled cheekily.

Hiccup smiled dryly. Cloudjumper shook his head. Toothless did nothing at all.

"You two looked really adorable reciting your vows yesterday," Valka went on, "it reminded me about my own wedding. Of course, we had to worry about a dragon attack in those days—yes, even in broad daylight. Nobody drank too much afterwards and everyone kept their weapons handy, as I recall." She smiled sadly. "Little did I know that within a year my life would change forever—and not just because I was carried away by a dragon," she added brightly, "Having a child for the first time is quite a life changing experience! I imagine you'll find that out yourself before next autumn!"

"So, what was your contention with Cloudjumper about?" Hiccup asked, hoping to change the subject.

Valka's face fell. "I think you can guess."

"Stay here or go back to Greenland. So, are you convinced now that what I told you about Berk was true?"

"It certainly looks fine, but how long will it last?" she asked evasively.

"As long as Toothless and I stick around," he answered firmly.

For a while, birds chirping and a faint sound of thunder in the distance were the only sounds anyone heard. At last Valka spoke again. "What would you have me do?"

Hiccup's brow furled. "It's your life. You decide what to do with it. You want to go back to Greenland, that's…all right, but if you want to stay here…our house will need some enlarging of course, but if you want to…" he trailed off, unsure of what to say next.

" **Our duty is to our nest and the Bewilderbeast** ," Cloudjumper cut in impatiently, " **we can stay to make certain of the fate of the Dragon Eye, but I must return home…alone, if I have to** ," he added. His threat made no impression so he changed tactics. " **Valka, you don't belong with these people. You belong with us! If it is your family you are thinking of, bring them with us! Everlasting Ice, there is enough room in the nest for everyone!"**

Valka shook her head sadly. " **Stoick would never leave Berk like that, not even for me. He cares too much about his tribe** ,"

"His tribe was all he had when you disappeared," Hiccup remarked. He glanced at Toothless. " **What would you do, Bud?"**

" **I'd go with you anywhere, but if you're thinking of relocating to Greenland, please know that I'm getting a little tired of changing homes** ," returned the dragon.

Hiccup now glanced back to his anxious and uncertain looking mother.

"I just don't know, Hiccup," she said, "My home is our nest, not Berk, but I can't help but feel there's too much here for me to just abandon again. I can't…" she looked at him helplessly.

"I know how you feel," Hiccup said, "You know about the Sanctuary, right? Well, when I was living there, I was always wondering if I should return to Berk or stay where I was."

"Living in the wilderness with dragons," Valka said, shaking her head, "just like I've been doing. You took after me more than I could ever have imagined."

"Didn't you ever get tired of having no other humans around?"

"Mostly during the early years when I couldn't talk to any dragons. Those years were the hardest ones. But as time went on, I got used to it. You can get used to anything if you exist with it long enough."

"Personally, I find once you get used to something it gets boring," he commented, "and then you have to find something new to get used to,"

" **That is a ridiculous idea** ," Cloudjumper said contemptuously. " **And would you kindly stop trying to persuade her to stay here? She does not belong on Berk any more than I do. She never did**!"

" **Can I have a word with you, please, in private**?" Toothless growled.

" **You may say what you like right here** ," the Stormcutter retorted.

Toothless glanced at the humans first. " **All right then. Are you Valka's friend or not**?"

Cloudjumper was very offended by such a question. " **Of course I am**!"

" **Then do you know what friends do? They help their friends figure out what's best for them and support the decisions they make. And you, Cloudjumper, are failing at that. Oh yes you are! Don't look at me like that! All you want is to take her and go back to your home, regardless of what she actually wants. Her mate did something similar to Hiccup when he was younger, and he ended up running away! If you care about Valka so much, think about what's best for her instead of yourself for a change! If you'd done that in the first place, this whole mess might never have happened! And don't call my human's ideas ridiculous, either! He's got more brains than any 5 people put together!"**

" **That's enough, Toothless** ," Hiccup said quietly.

Cloudjumper turned to Valka. " **Have I truly behaved…as he says I have**?"

" **In a few matters, perhaps** ," Valka said gently.

" **Well…why did you never tell me so**?"

" **Because at such times I was thinking about what was best for you and supporting the decisions** _ **you**_ **made. You were always kind to me on every matter except for where I lived, and I knew you were always happiest when I was around. I had already left behind my husband and son and caused them a lot of pain. How could I do that to my best friend as well?"**

" **Love truly is a selfish thing,"** Hiccup whispered to himself.

Cloudjumper swallowed. He would have preferred to talk to Valka in private about this, but he doubted Toothless and Hiccup would leave. " **Valka, the thing is…we have had a good life where we are. For me, it has been very good indeed. And because it is so good, I do not want to risk ruining it. After what Drago did to us at the old nest, I have hated the idea of anything else happening to my flock. So I have done my utmost to keep our flock together and safe**."

" **There's one problem with that, Cloudjumper** ," Toothless said, " **When you try too hard to prevent something, you might ultimately cause what you were trying to prevent. The Red Death was like that. She terrorized us so much to keep everyone from challenging her, and in the end she went too far and that's exactly what we did. You bend a stick too far and it breaks."**

Valka was lost in thought by all that she was hearing. Hiccup spoke up. " **I have a suggestion for a compromise. Are you two familiar with the story of Persephone? I have a friend who liked it so much she renamed herself after it. Well, to cut a long story short, she ends up spending part of the year with her mother and the other part with her husband. Can't you do something similar here? Couldn't you spend part of the year in Greenland and the other part on Berk**?"

Valka and Cloudjumper looked at each other dumbfounded. " **Now why didn't we ever think of that before**?"

" **And once your mate retires from being Chief, he and Skullcrusher can accompany you**!" Toothless added eagerly.

Cloudjumper turned to Valka. " **Is this what you want**?"

" **It sounds like the best option we have, I think**."

" **But there is still a problem. The Bewilderbeast will have to know about this, and about the fate of the Dragon Eye. I** _ **must**_ **return there as soon as possible**." Cloudjumper insisted.

" **Couldn't you send someone else with the message**?" Hiccup asked, " **We don't exactly lack for dragons around here. Ask around and see if anybody will do you a favor. Or you could go alone, you know,** "

Cloudjumper drew himself up, but then relaxed his posture. " **I shall consider the possibility**."

Valka turned to Hiccup. "Do you actually want me to stay? Or are you just saying it because it will please your father?"

Hiccup smiled faintly. "Mom, I gave up a long time ago of trying to do things to please him. I don't know how I feel about my past right now, but I think my future would be a lot better if you were in it." Before he had finished Valka was hugging him fiercely.

" **And he's going to need all the help he can get if he's going to raise little hatchlings of his own**!" Toothless added with a grin, " _ **Somebody**_ **has to make certain he doesn't make them flight suits before they reach their fifth winter**!"

Sometime later, Hiccup and Toothless went to the Ingerman household. As soon as they were inside Fishlegs barricaded the door with a heavy chest.

"Sorry, Hiccup, but I thought, after all that's happened it would be better if we take some precautions."

Hiccup could hardly disagree with him and said so as they moved into the eating area. The others were already there, including Queen Mala, Heather, and Windshear. Thankfully the Ingerman house had been rebuilt a while back to accommodate Meatlug's bulk otherwise they never would have fit so many people and dragons in it. Even so, it was a rather tight squeeze.

"Where's Hookfang?" Hiccup asked, for he looked around and realized the Nightmare was absent. It was just as well, for there was no room for him.

" **Keeping watch from the upstairs windows** ," Meatlug replied, " **He'll come down when it's his turn**." Snotlout said the exact same thing, only in Norse.

Hiccup looked around again. It was unusually quiet. Everyone was very eager to see what the Dragon Eye was actually capable of. "All right, we're all here now. How do we do this, exactly?"

Queen Mala had them cover the windows. Only when the room was dark and full of shadows did she open the iron chest and reveal the Dragon Eye. She handed the lenses to Hiccup first. "Choose any combination you like, Dragon King."

"Put them all in,"

Queen Mala refused to let anyone but herself work the Eye. If she was giving away some secrets with this, she was going to retain others. So she turned her back to them and worked with assembling the lenses for a few minutes. She then went over to Toothless, held the Eye in front of his mouth, and asked him to breathe on it gently.

A beam of purple light emerged from the Eye and formed a large on the opposite wall. Within this, black and gold shapes materialized, some of them clearly letters, some of them images of dragons, some of them the shapes of islands or landmarks.

"Remarkable," was all Hiccup could say. Fishlegs already had some parchment out and was starting to trace what he saw.

"So is this where the Isle of Night is?" Snotlout asked. "I don't see those words anywhere. Then again, none of these letters make any sense,"

"That's because this isn't Runic," Hiccup said, "This is all Latin." That was a problem, because nobody there but Hiccup knew any Latin, though in hindsight they should have anticipated it. The Norse Language had not existed when the Dragon Eye had been made.

Toothless tried to keep breathing on the lens and focus on the map at the same time. He assumed a clump of shapes was a group of islands, and he could not help but wonder about them. Was that where his species had originated? Did a nest survive there to this very day? Or had it all been destroyed long ago? And most of all he wondered where those islands were in the world.

Fishlegs finished his tracing and they moved onto Astrid and Stormfly. They would translate the words later.

"Well," Tuffnut said during the transition period, "this stuff's more secure than we thought! Even if Old Biggo Eggo Viggo managed to use this, he still wouldn't be able to read it!"

The more intelligent members of the group exchanged glances. They knew there was a good chance Viggo knew Latin, and even if he did not he only needed to go to the Continent and find a monk to translate it for him. The larger monasteries would surely have someone who could read.

Astrid's choice of lenses resulted in what seemed to be information on a nest of Speed Stingers located in Gaul. Snotlout, much to his annoyance, got a map of a single island. Ruffnut's choices produced a very detailed picture of a Whispering Death. Tuffnut's choice was just a large group of words. Hiccup was able to translate one word that meant 'Food' and guessed it was a list of foods dragons liked. Fishlegs's choices resulted in another map with a picture of a Naga-Raja; possibly it was a map to a colony of them. Finally, Heather's turn came up, and her choice of lenses produced another group of words. Hiccup was able to translate most of the heading this time and read out loud "I'm not sure about the first word, but the rest says 'Gold on Dragon Skin.'"

"Wow," Snotlout said eagerly. "What if that's a formula for making gold? We'll be rich!"

"We already are,"

Fishlegs said, "What if Snotlout's right and this tells us how to make gold from dragon skin? By golly, it's a good thing Viggo hasn't seen this! The poor Dragons wouldn't stand a chance anywhere!"

"Relax, Fish," Hiccup had been translating some more. "I think the first word says 'Placing.' I think these are notes on what happens when you place gold on Dragon skin. Whoever wrote this must have been experimenting."

"That's it?" Snotlout exclaimed. "That's so boring! We risked our lives, travelled thousands of leagues, faced the heat and cold and rain and snow and floods and this is what we get for it? Notes about putting gold on dragon skin? That's just pathetic!" He called for Hookfang and stormed out. The others could not help but share a bit of his disappointment. Only Hiccup, Toothless, and Fishlegs found any satisfaction from this. They wanted to go to work translating at once, but there were still wedding celebrations to take place, and Hiccup had to be at all of them.

The only map he made any headway on was his own. He had managed to translate one word, which read "Canaris," and he recognized the upper part of the map as the northern coast of Africa. If he was correct, the Isle of Night was somewhere to the west of the African Continent.

When the wrestling matches were over not all of the tribes members returned to their own ships. Several leaders gathered in secret on one of Mogadon's ships to talk.

"The fact is," said Scolder the Boulder, the new Chief of the Berserker Tribe, "We've known Berk was getting stronger, an' now that we've seen it for ourselves, I'd say they're too strong. Sooner or later they'll be walking over us!" He had a particular reason to worry. His tribe had been almost wiped out by Berk the previous year and if there were Berserkers like him who wanted revenge, there were likely Berkians who wanted to finish the job, and his tribe was hardly strong enough to stop them.

Several people nodded in agreement with Scolder, but several others shook their heads. Mogadon's son Thuggory spoke up. "Hiccup's never wanted conquest, we all know that."

"Aye, he says that, but does he really mean it?" Scolder argued.

"Oh come on, Scolder!" another retorted, "If Hiccup intended to conquer us, he would've done so already! He wouldn't have shown us how to live with dragons if he was just gonna use them to enslave us!"

"All right, maybe he means it now, but what 'bout five years from now? What 'bout the kids he'll soon prob-ly be having? What assurances do we 'ave _they_ won't come after us?"

"So you're saying we should wipe out Berk because the next generation _might_ be hostile to some of us?" Thuggory said scornfully. There was a lot of uncertainty on the faces of those present. But there was also envy.

"Why does Berk get the special treatment?" One Chief angrily asked, "Why should they get dragons for allies and tell us how to use them? Why should they decide how my tribe will live?" These were rhetorical questions but he had touched upon a sore spot for every Chief present: nobody liked the fact that Berk was powerful enough to tell them what to do. Granted, Stoick and Hiccup had not exercised this power much, except where Dragons were concerned, but could they expect it to always stay this way?

Of course, the Chiefs in this meeting were not all friends, by any means. Most did not care a button for what Berk did to any island unless it was their own. This division was evident as they discussed what they could do about Berk's growing power. Some suggested opened war against Berk. Some suggested alliances with Berk. A few wanted to just avoid Berk altogether and let everyone keep to themselves.

And then someone suggested "What if we got rid of Hiccup? Get rid of him and Berk's powerbase would collapse. Why, we could get rid of him tonight!"

Everyone paled at this idea and the atmosphere suddenly grew tenser.

Mogadon shook his head. "I have no liking for Hiccup or Berk, but to _kill_ him? Kill him because we're jealous of him and afraid he might turn against us, despite all evidence to the contrary? Good Gods, Berk _would_ turn against us if we did such a thing!"

"Aye," Someone said, "I mean, I'd kill him in battle without second thoughts, but murder…I'd end up in Hel forever, and I'd rather not have that happen,"

"So we'd all happily kill Hiccup in war," Thuggory said, though he was not speaking for himself here, "and we all know what happens when you go to war with Berk. Drago got torn to pieces, Hiccup's old flame got kicked into a volcano, and now Viggo and his people are decaying in prison,"

"If we all banded together—" but others scorned the idea. Alliances had nearly always been fickle and short lived. Even the friendship between the Bog Burglars and Berk was mostly due to the good relations between their leaders and no one else.

In the end, the standard political decision was made: everyone decided to wait for someone else to do something first and see what happened. Nobody committed themselves to anything.

Once everyone else had departed, Mogadon went up on deck with his son.

"You should know," Thuggory said, "I think an alliance with Berk would be better for us than enmity,"

"I disagree," Mogadon said, "I refuse to crawl to those people and beg for friendship. Still, we're not ready for a war with them and probably never will be in my lifetime. Then again, anything can happen." He looked at his son fixedly. "And Thuggory, I don't think I need to remind you that your loyalty is to me and our tribe. If a war with Berk did come, I expect you to fight on our side. And if you had the chance to kill Hiccup or Stoick in battle, I would expect you to do so."

"In battle," Thuggory said sharply. "No murders."

Mogadon nodded. "Quite right. Assassination would only cause more trouble. Any Chief with any sense knows that. Dagur killed his own father and look where that's landed him. Still, if an opportunity comes up to undermine Berk's threat to us, I might take it. I say 'if' and 'might'," he added, for Thuggory looked at him appalled. "It would depend on what came up and the risks involved. You know that's how I work. Oh, and one more thing. In the next Chief meeting, keep your mouth shut."

"I'm your heir. I have every right and duty to speak up at these meetings. Those people need to learn to respect me, and they won't do that if I stay silent all day."

"And they won't respect _me_ if they think I can't control my own son! You will do as I say or so help me you won't be attending these meetings period!"

"Stoick couldn't control his own son and that turned out pretty well." Thuggory muttered.

The idea of Valka dividing her time between two places was not what Stoick had hoped for, but he knew it was better than her leaving Berk for good, so he accepted her decision. With this and his son's marriage, Stoick was a very happy man, so happy in fact that the following day he decided to cut his prisoners a little slack and ordered each of them would have an extra ration of food and a large mug of mead for the rest of the festivities. Several prisoners, including Dagur, prayed fervently that someone else would get married soon.

There was little else to be cheerful about. Dagur sometimes started singing dreary prison songs and sobbing hysterically, much to everyone's annoyance. Eret sat in his cell thinking about how things had come to this and what he would do if he ever was released. Hognose talked of nothing except escape. Ryker joined in sometimes. His hope was in his brother, and he maintained a confident attitude, determined not to appear broken. As for Viggo, he sat in his cell looking benign, seldom speaking unless spoken to. The remaining dozen or so prisoners, the grunts of the dragon hunting world, was a mixture of these reactions. Some were rethinking their lives, some were terrified their execution was coming soon, some tried to play nice in the hopes of mercy from their captors, but all of them thought of escape. And since Hiccup had designed the cell bars, there was no chance of escaping without outside help, and the guards would not be bribed. The prisoners had made several offers without success.

That night several off-duty guards went to Mead Hall for a mug of ale and laughed to their families about their work day.

"And you know what that Viggo said? He said, and I quote," the man drew himself up and imitated Viggo's voice, "'it is such a shame, for if I was free I could easily and happily give my rescuer 2 hundred thousand pieces of gold in gratitude…and I could remove every dragon from Berk forever.' He actually thought somebody would go with that! Like we'd stoop to bribes and try to get rid of our dragons! Ha!" there was loud laughter from everyone.

"And then Dagur was screaming for his sister and a set of dice! He wanted to show her how to file them!"

There was more laughter. People began recalling the crazy stunts Dagur had pulled over the years.

"Remember how he wanted an exploding ferret for Snoggletog?"

"And poor Trader Johann—Dagur put a live monkfish in his pants!"

"That's better than getting a stupid Dragon Eye!" Snotlout shouted drunkenly, "I risked my life all for stupid charts about Speed Stingers in Gaul and dragon food and what happens when you put stupid gold on stupid dragon skin and stupidly watch what happens! How pathetic is that?"

"That's your father talking," someone remarked approvingly.

"And what's wrong with that?" Snotlout yelled. He drained his mug, threw it onto the floor, and stormed home muttering under his breath. Fishlegs came running after him.

"You shouldn't have said those things."

"I can say what I like!"

"Snotlout, that information was supposed to be kept private. Now every Viking in the whole Archipelago has a good chance of learning about it!"

"Oh boohoo! So what if someone knows about stupid gold on stupid dragon skin, who's gonna care about something that stupid? I'd tell the whole world about it!" Snotlout slurred.

Fishlegs grabbed his arm. "That is not the point! We're not supposed to go getting drunk and telling everybody within earshot about things like this!"

Snotlout threw him off. "Oh shut up, Fishy and leave me alone!"

"I always knew you had a thick head, but I thought you were more responsible than this!"

"I said shut up!" Snotlout shouted. He threw a punch at Fishlegs but missed and fell on his hands and knees. Nevertheless, the intention had angered Fishlegs and he left in a huff. Snotlout picked himself up and went home, shouted at Hookfang to keep quiet and slammed his fist onto the table a few times.

"That's my father talking, huh?" he muttered, "And why not? Yeah, and Hiccup gets his own father and his own mother and his own girl and his own this and that and everything! And now I can't even talk without someone telling me what to do! Well good riddance to them all! I'll say what I want and if Viggo somehow finds out, what's he gonna do about it? I'll beat him to a pulp!" he smiled at the thought. Oh yes, he would bash the man's head in if he ever caused Berk trouble again! Then everyone would see Snotlout's true might and appreciate it for a change.

Yet for some reason, when he pictured the scene in his mind he kept seeing himself beating up Hiccup instead of Viggo. He shook his head as if that would alter the image, but Hiccup kept appearing.

"Stop thinking like that," he told himself. "Stop thinking like that!"

But when you tell yourself to stop thinking about something you inevitably think about it.

The week of festivities ended and at last the visiting tribes began to pack up and sail home. Most departed cheerfully, eager to get back to their own islands before the weather turned foul, for there was preciously little time left before winter came. Before she left, Camicazi insisted Hiccup let her know the minute Astrid was pregnant, then slyly glanced at Thuggory and said "Perhaps one day I'll have kids of my own!"

As soon as she went to say goodbye to someone else Thuggory looked at Hiccup and asked urgently "Is she serious or does she just like seeing me blush?"

"I'd tell you if I knew, Thug,"

"That girl just drives me crazy! I never know what she's going to do to me next!"

Hiccup smiled and shook his head. "Poor Thuggory,"

Thuggory regained his composure. "Yes, well, as one Heir to another, I wish you the best of luck. And something else: you oughta know some tribes are starting to think you're getting too powerful,"

Hiccup raised an eyebrow. "Am I?"

"Sure! You've got the loyalty of every dragon from Norway to England! I know it's our own fault for not working out the truth about them sooner, but still…just something to keep in mind."

"Then tell your father and anyone who'll listens to just treat dragons fairly and leave Berk alone, and you have no reason to worry. That's fair enough, isn't it?"

"For some people perhaps,"

"I'm not out to establish an empire, Thuggory. This island's got enough problems to deal with," Hiccup said firmly. One of his problems now was saying goodbye to Heather.

Fishlegs was walking with her towards the docks. "Are you sure Queen Mala doesn't need a little more time to recover?"

"She's adamant about leaving now," Heather said miserably. "She doesn't want to trespass on Berks hospitality any longer,"

"But since you've got Windshear, they could leave and send for you to join them later!" Fishlegs suggested.

Heather smiled sadly. "I doubt she'd go along with that."

"Indeed I would not," Queen Mala said as she passed them. "I want the Razorwhip set free now."

Heather looked ready to argue but checked herself. Hiccup, however, was within earshot of this and said firmly, "Bonding with a dragon is a powerful thing, Queen Mala. It is not something that can be cast aside, traded, or hung up like an old sword. I for one have no notion of how to break such bonds, not that I've ever wanted to. And I don't think Windshear is going to let you break this bond either." He pointed to the Defender's ship. Windshear was sitting on the bow and refusing to budge.

Queen Mala turned to Heather. "Order the dragon to leave."

"I don't think—"

"Heather!"

Hiccup spoke up again, "Do it, Heather."

Heather felt betrayed as she told Windshear to get off the ship. But the Razorwhip still refused to move.

"Did I forget to mention that just because you've bonded with a dragon doesn't mean they're completely obedient to you?" Hiccup asked, trying not to sound smug.

Mala got the point at last. Windshear would not leave unless she was forced to and there was no way of forcing her to leave which did not betray what the Defenders were supposed to stand for.

Astrid joined them. "So, I guess this is goodbye then? For real this time, I mean,"

"Yeah, no detours to the desert this time," Heather smiled sadly.

"We still could go looking for something else," Fishlegs hinted.

Heather shook her head. "I'll write when I can. And you guys better respond!"

"Oh don't worry, we will," Astrid said, with a knowing look.

"Yeah," Fishlegs agreed, "Every day, if you want,"

As she hugged them goodbye, Heather decided she had never felt less enthusiastic to go with the Defenders.

Windshear was not the only dragon going with the Defenders, at least for part of the voyage. Since Cloudjumper's charge was to make certain the Dragon Eye was put somewhere safe, he insisted on traveling with them. Queen Mala eventually agreed to allow him to accompany them so he could witness what she was going to do with it. Her intention was to sail to where there was no land visible and throw the chest and its contents overboard. She could see no harm in letting the Stormcutter witness this, but there were two conditions: he would have to provide his own food and Valka was not to come with him.

Neither Cloudjumper nor Valka were very pleased about being separated, but since the separation was promised to be brief, they agreed to it. Perhaps out of guilt, Cloudjumper seemed anxious to let Valka be alone with her human family for a while. Stoick did not mind in the slightest. The Haddocks discussed plans for redesigned houses over the dinner table that night. It was obvious either somebody was going to have to move out or the house would need altering if two families and at least 4 large dragons were expected to live together. It was suggested Astrid and Hiccup live with Greta Hofferson for a while, but sooner or later someone's home was going to need enlarging and Hiccup was already eagerly making new designs.

Hiccup was startled out of a dream by someone pounding on the front door. Groaning he rolled out of bed and looked out the window. It was still pitch black outside. He could hear Stoick's heavy footsteps below and heard low voices.

The pounding had woken Astrid too. "What's going on?"

He kissed her on the head. "Don't get up. I'll take a look." But before he could leave the room Stoick came charging into it.

"Are you two all right?"

"We're fine. What's going on?" Astrid asked, getting out of bed and pulling on her boots.

"The prisoners have escaped!"

"What?" Hiccup and Astrid exclaimed. Toothless abandoned any pretense of sleeping and rushed for the door.

"The guards were changing shifts as usual." Stoick explained as they all went into the night. "The one who was guarding the cells didn't show up so they went to look for him. They found him on the floor, bound, gagged, and drugged."

"Is he all right?" Astrid exclaimed.

"Gothi's looking at him right now."

"Dad, when you say the prisoners are gone, do you mean _all_ of them?"

"All of them." Valka said grimly.

Hiccup looked around. It was a cold and cloudy night. "Right, well then, they can only be at sea or on the island somewhere. Astrid, get the Riders up and mounted, have them meet us at the Racing Arena. And bring the 'A' Team too. And we should send out all the Tracker Dragons we can locate."

Several times in the past, people had suggested they assemble a group of elite Dragon Trackers for locating lost Berkians, livestock, game, riders, and ships. After the trouble of locating the Riders in the Tabernas Desert the suggestion had come up again. While nobody was opposed to the idea, other priorities had kept pushing it to the sidelines. Hiccup now vowed he would give this problem his full attention.

As it happened, Skullcrusher was already getting them up and sniffing, so Hiccup turned away and went to the Arena. Stoick and Valka were waking up and organizing the Vikings. With so many prisoners missing and many of them proven threats to Berk, nobody was settling for any half measures.

Hiccup joined the Riders. The majority of them were shivering because they had only had time to throw a cloak on. "All right, saddle up. Everyone go to your usual search area. I don't want any ships unaccounted for. But no picking fights, do you hear me? Inform every ship you see about what has happened, ask them politely if you may search their ship, make it very clear that these prisoners might have snuck aboard without anyone else knowing about it, and let it be known if anyone is harboring them, please return them to us and we'll say no more about it. Is that clear?"

"And be sure to treat the adorable Eret gently!" Ruffnut added brightly.

"What if they refuse to let us search their ships?" Gustav asked. That was a legitimate problem and a thorny one.

"Try and persuade them as best you can."

"And note any ships that refuse." Fishlegs added sourly as he handed out sheets of parchment and charcoal. He had been working late on the Book of Dragons, in an attempt to distract himself.

To prevent any more ships from getting away, Stoick ordered some of his own vessels to sail out a ways and blockade his own harbor. No ship would be allowed to pass through until it was searched thoroughly. Nobody could really protest here, for it was his island and these were his prisoners, and he had every right to search everything and everyplace in his territory for them. No Chief would have done differently.

But at sea it would be a different matter. There it was nobody's territory, and a forced search of a ship could result in offending the ship's owners. It was a strange but traditional rule that once a ship was away from land it had no obligation to obey anyone's rules but its own. Searching ships at sea had to be done carefully and respectfully, or else illegally. And having just been warned that some people thought he was getting too powerful, Hiccup wanted to be careful not to tread on anyone's toes if it could be avoided.


	23. Chapter 23

**Chapter 23**

 **Trying to Act Normal**

"Nothing!" Gustav shouted to Hiccup when he came to the Haddock house the following night. Hiccup and Astrid were sitting at the table, a low fire burning behind them. "We've been out all day and didn't find so much as a dirty toenail! Nothing!" He stomped on the floor in frustration.

"How many ships did you come across?" Hiccup asked.

"Just Mogadon's fleet. There were exactly 7 of them."

"Were you polite to them?"

"Absolutely! Fanghook and I followed your instructions to the letter! Mogadon sent people below to take a look, and they came back and told us there was no one on board who shouldn't have been! Oh, and Thuggory said to say 'hello.'"

Astrid leaned forward from her chair. "So they didn't let you search in person?"

"Nah. They wouldn't even let us land on the boat. Poor Fanghook nearly sprained a wing hovering!"

"Get some ice for him and call it a day, Gustav. You've done enough," Hiccup said. Once he was gone Hiccup sighed and ran his fingers through his hair. "Nothing at all. Nobody's seen them on land or sea." They had been out and about since the previous night, flying all over the place, questioning people on boats and in Berk, examining the cells and everything near them. It had been exhausting for all of them.

" **The Trackers said the scents led to the harbor** ," Toothless reminded him.

"I know, Bud, and once they got that far they started smelling Dragon Nip and lost the scent. What worries me more is how they got out in the first place. I helped design and build those cells. They're as escape proof as we can possibly make them. We even had dragons blast them and tried all kinds of picklocks and metal eating acids on them. Without outside help, I don't see how anyone could break out. And those prisoners were searched before they were locked up."

"So they had outside help," Astrid replied, "the question is: was it from another tribe or from us?" They both badly wanted to believe it was from another tribe. The idea of someone on Berk betraying them like this was horrifying.

The door opened and Stoick came lumbering in, Valka right behind him. "Nothing, I see," he said, "I don't see what more we can really do right now. We'll increase our patrols, but aside from that…we've been talking to the guards, but we can't really interrogate everybody on the island,"

"We could, but I doubt it would do any good," Hiccup said in exasperation, "if there is a traitor here—and we don't have any proof that it was one of us—all they have to say is they were asleep when it happened, and who's going to disprove it? Unless someone witnessed it…there were scores of people around the area, surely _somebody_ would have seen something!"

"Someone probably did," Valka said, "and probably just assumed it was average Vikings heading to their ship after a little drinking party."

Hiccup abruptly stood up and put down the glass of wine he had been sipping. "I'm going to bed."

Astrid retired a while afterwards and found him sitting on the side of the bed, in the darkness, and completely dressed. "What are you thinking about?"

"What to do now,"

"And?"

"I don't know. Unless we find him, the next move is really up to Viggo. So I'm trying to think about what he's going to do next. Obviously he's going to come after Berk. He's got to show his own people he's got the power to do that kind of thing. So what is he going to do?" he mused, more to himself than to Astrid. "What would I do if it was me? I'd find some unorthodox way to get even. But we've got to remember, Viggo's probably pretty weak right now. Whatever he pulls, it can't be very elaborate and massive. He probably couldn't manage a full scale invasion like Drago tried." He massaged his temples. "I'm sending the Terror Scouts out tomorrow. It's spying on other tribes, yes, and there'll be a huge mess if they're discovered, but it's only until we find Viggo and who helped him. We have one advantage. It's said Viggo offered 2 hundred thousand pieces of gold to whoever helped him get loose. That kind of money can't be hidden easily and sooner or later he'll have to pay or kill his helper. Either way, we'll know who it was. I hope."

Astrid gently put a hand on his shoulder. "Why don't you get some sleep and think about it tomorrow? Turn that brain of yours off and let it rest for a while."

"I've never felt less inclined to argue with you,"

The next two weeks passed by with little happening. Viggo did not resurface and went unsighted. Hiccup's Terror Scouts brought back no information, and there was no sign that the one who had helped Viggo was getting their reward. But Hiccup did not despair. He knew that travel by ship was slow and hoped Viggo could still be caught while at sea. So the Terror Scouts maintained their secret positions and the searches continued. Hiccup suspected Viggo would disguise his ship to look like a ship from a tribe Berk was friendly with. Their friends and allies were warned of what was going on and several of them helped search. Still, nothing was found. Whatever Viggo was, Hiccup could not deny the man was a master of evasion.

Even though Viggo had escaped and could not be located, Hiccup had other things to think about. He was still settling in with Astrid, and while the two had similar habits, they still had a few issues with living together. Astrid soon started complaining that Hiccup hogged all the blankets, and Hiccup discovered Astrid had a tendency to kick when she was asleep. On top of that, Astrid lived with a soldier's sense of cleanliness and frugality. She organized objects so they could be located with the least amount of time and effort. Hiccup tended to favor a more laid back approach to where he put his stuff. He did not really care how a pile of parchment was organized, and he might leave a charcoal pencil on his chair rather than on his desk for a few days. He had his own methods, of course, but they were not what Astrid preferred to use. They also had some squabbles over where Astrid's possessions would go and where Hiccup's possessions would be relocated to. Astrid also wanted Stormfly to move in with them, which Hiccup did not object to, but there was simply no room in his bedroom for him and Astrid, their possessions, and two full grown dragons.

They also had to get used to living with Valka. Valka's difficulties had been evident ever since she had come to Berk, but with the wedding preparations nobody had really noticed or thought about them. With things calming down, however, Stoick began to find Valka was not as easy to live with as he remembered.

For one thing, her eating habits were simply awful. She had completely forgotten how to use utensils in her absence and made a mess at the table every meal trying to relearn. If she thought nobody was looking, she would cheat and eat with her hands, regardless of what they were eating. Stoick might not have minded except he was worried about public appearances, especially where other tribes were concerned.

And then there was the problem of sleeping together. Neither of them had shared a bed with anyone for over 20 years, and like Hiccup and Astrid, they had developed habits that do not go well in a bed for two. Valka complained the bed was way too soft and had too many blankets. She also complained that Stoick snored and took up too much space. Stoick complained she never stayed on her side of the bed and that her cold feet were always touching his. They both also tended to wake up at random hours and wake the other person up.

"I didn't think when she came back this would happen," he moaned to Hiccup one morning.

"It's just the realities of life, Dad,"

"Sometimes I get the feeling she doesn't have a clue of the proper way to behave in a house! You know that she came to bed last night with her boots still on? And those oranges you were given for a wedding present? She started eating one without even peeling it! And she doesn't have a clue of how to keep the house clean—didn't you see her with the broom yesterday?"

"Dad, I'm not exactly happy about these things either, but we've gotta be patient. She hasn't lived in a house for over 20 years. She's probably more aware and more uncomfortable of her mistakes than we know."

Stoick sighed. "I know, son, and I'm trying. But I never imagined a woman like my wife would live like she was half animal."

Hiccup cocked his head to one side. "Have you considered that perhaps you venerated her memory too much? That maybe she wasn't as perfect a person as you like to remember?"

Stoick told him not to talk nonsense.

Household squabbles or not, Berk still needed managing. Hiccup and Astrid both started handling this more and more, so Berk essentially had 3 Chiefs. Stoick still had the final say in everything, but now he tended to defer to Hiccup's decisions and thoughts. As the wife of the next Chief, Astrid had considerable authority and made it clear that Hiccup approved of her using it.

Winter was the main source of concern for Berk now. Less than three weeks after the wedding the newlyweds woke up to find Berk buried under almost a meter of snow. They spent the whole day shoveling it off rooftops. Frost clung to the windows, the harbor began to freeze slowly, the weather deteriorated at times to the point where anyone who went flying was considered suicidal, and the temperature dropped so low a person's breath could be seen when they were inside. Much like the year before, people night and day thanked the Gods that they had dragons to provide warmth, and even Mildew, when backed into a corner, had to admit the dragons were good for something this time of year.

And there was yet another thing Hiccup thought about. After learning the location of the Isle of Night, he found himself frequently desiring to go there. The mystery of it and the excitement of exploration and discovery were very alluring to him. Unfortunately, his father was going to have to approve of this and he could not think of any good arguments to convince Stoick to do so. He remembered the little deal they had made before the Dragon Race, which seemed like a lifetime ago already, but he felt his father would say the deal had been made null and void with the Dragon Eye adventure. On top of that, Stoick had agreed to let them go after the Dragon Eye partly because Hiccup had, rather forcibly, persuaded him that Berk's security was potentially at stake. He could not make that argument this time. In fact, the only reason why Hiccup wanted to go there was simply because he wanted to. It was a selfish reason and he knew it. There was simply no foreseeable benefit for Berk to justify its Heir taking another long journey through unknown dangers to some far away island, especially with Viggo Grimborn and his people still on the loose. And with winter having come at last the idea of a long flight, even to the warmer south, seemed downright crazy.

And yet, Hiccup and Toothless still traveled, when the weather was reasonable enough. They made short trips to nearby tribes to check up on them, see how their dragons were doing, to look for any news of Viggo's whereabouts, and see if there were any trade opportunities.

They were on one of these trips, flying to visit the Owl Guts, when they spotted a ship below them which had written on the sail in red paint the words " _Viggo's on board_." Puzzled and excited, they flew closer. A sailor spotted them and shouted at them to land quickly.

"Come and look! We've got Viggo Grimborn down below!" he yelled excitedly. He was a bit too excited, and when Hiccup saw the other sailors sitting around working on nets, not showing the slightest interest in what was going on, his suspicions were aroused.

"Bring him up on deck!" Hiccup called down, " **Don't land, Bud** ,"

" **I wasn't planning to** ,"

"We can't. He's locked up down below. It would be safer to keep him that way,"

"Well I'd be glad to come and have a look, but I've recently come down with Ruckin-tuckin's disease and I'm contagious!" he made a mental note to thank Heather for making up that sickness, "Just put enough guards on him and keep him shackled, it'll be fine!"

The response was to shoot nets and arrows at him. Toothless flew away at once.

At first Hiccup thought little of the failed trap. After all, he had been in situations with considerably more danger. But when he was with the Owl Guts, he and Gort had a long talk about which dragons would be migrating soon and which ones would not. Someone brought out drinks, and Hiccup took one taste of his and realized there was poison in it. Thankfully it was one of the poisons he had built up immunity to. He acted as if nothing had happened, but his mind was racing frantically. Of all the people he knew, he always thought Gort was one of the least likely to want him dead. Gort's own behavior seemed to indicate he had no idea of the failed murder attempt. So either he was a terrific actor or someone was acting on their own accord. At any rate, Hiccup declined the offer to stay the night, explaining that he had received an urgent summons from the Berserker Tribe.

That made two attempts on his life within the span of two days, and it began to increase. Several ships they flew over fired nets and projectiles at them and after the second try Toothless took to maintaining a higher altitude. But the most serious attempt came when he stopped at the Meatheads. As soon as they landed by the docks a horde of sailors whipped out spears and charged. Toothless roared and spat plasma at the attackers, who began throwing their weapons. One missed Hiccup's head by mere centimeters and he ordered Toothless to take off. At that moment one man threw himself onto the Night Fury's tailfin and began to stab at it with his knife. Toothless swung his tail and sent him flying into the harbor, but then another man came charging up holding Dragon Nip and shoved it into the Night Fury's nose.

The man did not get to celebrate his little success, for Hiccup hit his gauntlet and sprayed fire at him. Toothless sneezed and fought to stay conscious.

"STOP!" Thuggory came running over, followed by his bodyguards. As soon as they showed up the attackers scattered and ran for it. "After them! Hiccup, stay where you are a minute, I want to talk to you!"

"Oh really?" Hiccup growled, but he had little choice. Toothless was too disoriented to take off easily, though he was recovering rapidly.

Thuggory held his hands up. "Easy. I just want to make it clear, those men weren't Meatheads. They came with a merchant ship a few days ago. My tribe had nothing to do with this attack, and I promise you my father will punish everyone he gets his hands on."

"So why'd they try to kill us?" Hiccup demanded. "Why is everybody trying to kill me right now?"

"Don't you know?" Thuggory asked in surprise. "But we only heard about it two days ago, so perhaps you don't,"

"Don't what?" Hiccup asked impatiently.

"Someone, probably Viggo, put a price on your head. I heard it was at 50,000 gold pieces,"

" _50,000_ —" Hiccup was incredulous, "50—Are you saying that every mercenary in the Archipelago is now lying in wait for me to show up so they can kill me?"

"Evidently,"

"And does your father—"

"Hiccup, he knows better than to take part in this. He'd be signing our own death warrant if he offended Berk like this. We're not _that_ desperate for gold," he added with a chuckle, hoping to defuse the situation. Hiccup was not amused, and since Toothless was now back to normal he ordered him to take them back to Berk at once.

"But Hiccup, I thought you wanted to discuss something with my father!" Thuggory shouted as they rose in the air. "Isn't that why you came here in the first place?"

"It can wait," Hiccup yelled back, " **Toothless, don't fly near any ships or inhabited islands** ,"

" **If I had that Viggo between my jaws right now I'd crush his brain into Terror droppings** ," Toothless growled, " **Putting a price on my human's head—I'll tear him apart and put him back together incorrectly and tear him apart again and feed him to a crocodile**!"

" **That's a little extreme, don't you think**?" Hiccup asked, though the idea cheered him up a little.

" **Is it any more extreme than putting a price on your head? The nerve of you humans. And 50,000 gold pieces? From what I know about money, you're worth 65,013 at least**!"

" **Why 65,013**?"

" **First number I could think of**."

" **Wonderful. You're a natural price setter** ,"

" **I know. But what are we going to do about it**?"

" **We've got a few options. I'll think it over as we go**."

Once they returned to Berk, nearly a day sooner than planned, they were met by relieved villagers and family members.

"Thank goodniss," Gobber exclaimed, and there were plenty of people to echo his words, "We've bin worried sick!"

"We only found out a few days ago," Valka said, "Look at this! Trader Johann brought it with him." It was a long sheet of parchment with Hiccup's name, a sketch, a detailed description of him, and a reward offer.

"They didn't draw my bangs correctly," Hiccup commented dryly.

"Is that all you can say?" Stoick exclaimed, "Son, don't you realize how serious this may be?"

"More than you know," Hiccup replied, and he summarized his recent brushes with death for them. "Is there any chance any mercenaries have come here?"

" **Not without us finding out** ," Skullcrusher proudly assured him, " **we've been searching every ship that arrives**."

"The only ship in the harbor not belonging to us belongs to Trader Johann and his crew," Stoick said, "they're old friends; they're harmless,"

"Johann is more dangerous than most people think," Hiccup said darkly. Beneath that timid beard and nervously respectful posture was a man who heard and saw more than others did. Still, Trader Johann was another person whom Hiccup could not imagine would betray him for money. His crew, on the other hand…

Hiccup told Stoick he wanted any merchant crews to always be accounted for as long as they were on Berk.

"And where's Astrid?" he asked, looking around uneasily.

Valka smiled reassuringly. "Don't worry. She was out yesterday looking for you and woke up this morning feeling sick. It was a really cold day, you know. So Greta and I made her stay in bed today. She's probably asleep right now."

"You got Astrid to stay in bed all day because of sickness? I'll believe anything now."

"Well, Gothi had to drug her a little bit,"

" **Cheating** ," Toothless said.

"But what was she doing looking for me yesterday? I wasn't even expected back until late tomorrow!"

"That's what we told her—several times—but that didn't stop her!" Valka laughed as they walked to their house, with Toothless right behind them. Although he was home, Hiccup still could not help but look at everybody suspiciously, especially if he did not know them well. He was very grateful dragons could not read and that most had no use for gold. It was bad enough to have humans after him; having dragons after him too would have shredded his nerves completely.

"So," Valka said once they got inside, "what are we going to do about this? If you want my opinion, we should pretend nothing out of the ordinary is happening,"

Hiccup started undoing the laces of his boot. "Why?"

" **Yeah, I'd like to know that too** ," Toothless added.

"It's something your father often did after a raid. He would act confident and calm, as if nothing was wrong."

" **He usually acts that way** ," Toothless pointed out.

" **I guess it became a habit** ," she smiled, "when people look at you and see you aren't worried, they feel reassured. It would say we aren't scared of what Viggo's trying to do to us."

Hiccup sat down in a chair and looked into the fire. "I don't know, Mom. Don't you think it might be better to go somewhere safe until this blows over?"

"Where are you safe if not here? How will it blow over unless Viggo drops the bounty or someone…you know, kills you? If you flew off, wouldn't that be saying that Viggo's gotten to you, that he's winning?"

"Sometimes retreating saves the army," Hiccup pointed out, "you can rebuild lost morale but you can't replace a destroyed army,"

"A nice met-a-for, but I still think we should try to act like Viggo's not getting to you. Besides, you can't leave now! It's too late! If you were going to go into hiding, it'd be better to start when you'd have a whole night to fly,"

"I suppose that makes sense," Hiccup sighed wearily.

Valka cocked her head to one side. "Tired?"

"Thwarting attempts on your life does that to you." Hiccup said. "Has Cloudjumper returned yet?"

She shook her head. "Hiccup, get some sleep. Whatever's going on, we'll take care of it. We'll make sure nothing happens to you. That's what parents are for, right?"

Hiccup gave her a sad look. "In theory,"

"Then let me make up for the lost time, _please_ ," she pleaded.

Hiccup gave her a brief smile and went upstairs. Astrid was sound asleep. There was little sleep for the rest of the household that night, however. Valka, Stoick, Skullcrusher, and Toothless all took turns staying up and patrolling the area, while Stormfly stayed up watching the sleeping humans.

The following morning the Haddocks made an effort to act as if nothing had happened the night before. But everybody else on Berk talked about nothing but the bounty. They wanted to know what they would do about it, where would the next attack come from, would anyone get caught in the blast, and would Hiccup get them through this again. If you talked to Mildew, the answer was a doubtless "No, we're all doomed thanks ta 'im and them dragons!" but others were convinced Hiccup or Stoick would come up with a response. Many hoped the response would be a battle, for now that they had dragons there were plenty of Vikings who wanted to unleash them. This feeling had really taken root during Hiccup and Astrid's wedding celebrations, when Vikings from other tribes were boasting about their accomplishments in battle, and the Vikings of Berk found they had had precious few heroic feats recently. Peace, it seemed, was starting to get a little boring. And since it was believed only Vikings who died in battle went to Valhalla, some of the older ones were growing a bit concerned about their chances.

With the other Dragon Riders, Snotlout found the bounty hilarious, the Twins were envious, and Fishlegs was horrified. When Hiccup, Astrid, and their dragons passed him that morning, he and Gobber were arguing over ways to deal with this.

"We could challenge Viggo to a dool? Call 'im out? Lure 'im inter a trap?"

"He'd never come." Fishlegs said bitterly.

"Not even if we used a fake eye-dent-ity?" Gobber urged. "What if 'e received a summons from…say, 'Eric the Black 'Earted' to talk 'bout some 'untin' deal…"

Hiccup's smile was gauntly, "For a reply Viggo would ask 'Eric' to come and see _him_ to discuss some hunting deal. Sorry Gobber, but Viggo won't fall for it."

"Where would he see him?" Astrid cut in, her voice sounding like a frog, "And how would we get a message to him if we wanted to? Where has Viggo set up headquarters?"

Everybody looked around hoping somebody else could provide an answer.

"I wonder if Heather knows," Fishlegs mused, "I'll ask in my next letter,"

"So you're in communication with her?" Astrid asked.

"Oh yes!"

"Be careful what you write about," Hiccup warned.

Fishlegs drew himself up. "Hiccup, I assure you, I know what not to put in a letter. I know when to be discrete. And I promise you, I wouldn't include anything that might put your life at risk."

"Thanks," Hiccup said sincerely, "Still…can't be too careful."

"So 'Iccup, wot's the plan? You've always got a plan. 'Ow d'we fix this Viggo man?" Gobber asked eagerly.

"The plan, Gobber, is to act like his efforts have no impact on us at all…for the time being." He shifted his weight slightly, as if he was hiding something, "Sorry if I don't share any details yet, but you know…people talk too much,"

Gobber grinned. "Say no more! Jest tell us when yer ready and we'll let 'er rip!"

"So how's Spittle doing?" Hiccup asked to change the subject.

"Well, 'e's not like you, but then, nobody is. An' that reminds me, ah've got work ta do, so if ya x-cuse me," Gobber hobbled off through the snow. Fishlegs excused himself too. He had volunteered to work with Gothi in taking inventory on medicines. "On average, 8 people die each winter from illness. I'm hoping to lower it," he told them.

"It's because of what happened to his mother," Astrid remarked after he had left.

"Yeah. So nobody really knows where Viggo's headquarters are?" Hiccup mused, "I'll have to do something about that."

"After the meeting," Astrid reminded him. Hiccup groaned.

The main focus of this meeting was the new security measures, winter rations, and the new crane, which had been discussed before they had even met the Defenders of the Wing, but had been delayed for various reasons. Stoick wanted to get the issue settled once and for all, and since Hiccup had proposed it he wanted him to deal with it. In other words, he was testing Hiccup's ability to run a village.

Hiccup sifted through various crane designs. "What was wrong with the schematic I made?"

"Too expensive," said one of Berk's carpenters, Shouting Sven, named for his temper and to distinguish him from Silent Sven. "We thought we'd try some plans that would be cheaper. See this one? It would cost only half of what your design would. That's a lot of money we'd be saving for other projects!" He looked smugly at everyone.

Hiccup smiled. "Very nice, and it'll only lift half as much weight too,"

Shouting Sven lost his smugness. "How's that?"

"If you remove all these cross beams, sure you save a lot on wood and nails, but without those beams for support, you try lifting something heavy and the crane will collapse."

Sven looked over the schematic and his face turned red. "But I thought—my apprentice must have made this one! Curse him! I'll flog him for this! He assured me everything was perfect!" His voice went from disbelief to a loud roar.

Astrid privately doubted it was the apprentice's fault. Shouting Sven had a reputation for being a skinflint. So she said very firmly, "Now look everyone, I don't mind lowering costs where we can, but let's do it sensibly, alright? There's no point in building a cheaper crane if it's going to need to be rebuilt sooner. As far as I can see, no other design is superior to Hiccup's."

"Are you saying that because he's your husband?" someone demanded.

"No, I'm saying it because I think it's the best design," she snapped.

"So when should we start building?" Seaslug asked to forestall an argument.

"No time like the present,"

Sven tried to regain the initiative and divert the subject a little, "Hiccup, might I suggest we start building when the thaw comes? You know how prices always go up in the winter due to scarcity."

"Sven, are you suggesting we delay building something that will benefit us because you're afraid of spending a little extra on it?" Hiccup asked with a raised eyebrow. Sven probably did feel that way but he dared not admit it in front of Berks higher ranking Vikings. "We'll begin work as soon as possible. It'll keep some farmers busy for a while too. And don't worry about the money; we've got plenty. Now let's move onto other matters—"

"Like how safe we are?" Someone asked. The atmosphere in the room suddenly felt as cold as the air outside did. Stoick moved closer to Hiccup, indicating he was now involved in this discussion. "I'm just pointing out Grimborn put a price on Hiccup's head. What if he goes further? What are we going to do about it?"

"I say we find Viggo's lair and blast it and him to pieces!" Shouting Sven roared. A lot of people nodded vigorously.

"Aye. My blade is getting dull."

"I need the exercise,"

"Berk's been too peaceful these days. The only enemy is Mildew!"

Stoick cleared his throat. "While I'm certainly glad to find everyone so eager for a fight, it hasn't come to that yet. At the moment the plan is to keep my son alive and—"

"And to gather information," Hiccup cut in, "And since not everyone here rides a dragon and the ice will soon be settling in, I doubt there'll be any 'fights' until the thaw."

The prospect of a long, cold, and boring winter was not what they wanted to hear. Hiccup got the sense nobody was really happy with him when the meeting broke up. When he mentioned this to his father, Stoick simply brushed it aside and said "Sometimes nobody likes to hear the truth, but they have to hear it."

The rest of the day was spent in similar meetings, organizing winter stores, and preparing for the worst weather possible, as well as more discussions of Berks' safety and what to do about Viggo Grimborn. Astrid was forced by her mother and Gothi to leave these discussions early, as she was still a bit sick and needed some medicine and rest. Even then she resisted until Hiccup advised her to do it.

He and Toothless flew away for the evening and eventually ended up at an isolated rock a little ways off the coast.

" **Well, no attempts to murder me today. I suppose that's something."** Hiccup remarked dryly.

" **Unless they're trying to bore us to death. I saw your face during those meetings, and honestly, if I wasn't staying there to protect you I'd have skipped them completely**." Toothless groaned. " **I can almost see why you Vikings want some action again**."

" **Oh come on, you've had plenty of excitement these past few months! Just a few days ago we nearly got killed visiting the Meatheads**!" Hiccup flopped into the snow and stared up at the gray sky. " **Am I really getting too bothersome, Bud? Should I back down for a while?"**

" **And let those hunters drive dragons to extinction? Do you honestly think Viggo will back off if you do**?"

Hiccup shook his head and started walking around the top of the sea stack. " **No. If Viggo doesn't finish me off, anyone can say to him 'Why couldn't you ever kill the Dragon King?' He's marked me for death and if he doesn't follow up he loses more credibility. And the more attempts we foil, the more desperate they'll get and the more likely somebody will get killed. And yet, we still need to know where Viggo is and where to hit him. How about we talk it over with my Dad tonight?"** He made a face. " **Ugh. I miss the Sanctuary. If we wanted to go somewhere back then, we'd just go, not sit around and discuss it with everyone. If we wanted to go for a midnight flight or sneak into a cell or try out some new contraption, who was going to stop us? Who did we have to ask for permission?"**

" **Yeah, I miss that freedom too. Of course, we dragons don't form real governments and bur-ach—what's that word again?"**

" **Bureaucracies?"**

" **Nice word. Anyway, we just have Alphas and Betas and that's that."**

" **And your Alpha's been missing for almost four centuries. Fine leadership you dragons have!"** Hiccup playfully nudged the dragon's leg.

They returned home rather late.

"Well it's about time!" Valka exclaimed, "Look at you! You're going to catch your death!"

"Ah, c'mon mom, my clothes are pretty waterproof! Just not slobber proof," he added with a glare at Toothless, who put on his innocent expression.

"No excuses! Now get upstairs and get into something dry! And do it quietly, Astrid's probably asleep."

Hiccup made for the stairs and saw Cloudjumper sleeping in a corner. The corner looked considerably smaller now that his large frame was in it. Hiccup paused.

"He arrived shortly before sunset," Valka explained, anticipating his question.

"How'd he get in here?"

"The back door,"

"But the back door's too small! Even Toothless has to angle himself to get through it."

"It _was_ too small,"

"Did some remodeling, did you? Does Dad know about it?"

Valka looked down and played with a stick from the wood pile. "It's a surprise."

Hiccup snorted and went upstairs. Sure enough Astrid was in bed and fast asleep. It was heartwarming to see how peaceful she looked. He smiled, pulled off his flight suit, and went to place it in the newly installed yet already cluttered wardrobe.

"Sheesh, everything in this house is too small for—"

When he opened the wardrobe a man with a knife leapt onto him.


	24. Chapter 24

**I Own Nothing**

 **All Rights Reserved**

 **Oh no! The last chapter ended on a cliffhanger! Find the author and hang, draw, and quarter him, roast the parts over a spit, douse them in piquant sauce and gasoline (I'm sure it's tasty), and then imprison him for life! I mean, seriously, the way some people talk you'd think I'd committed a mortal sin for ending a chapter on a tense moment and asking readers to wait less than a week to see what happens next!**

 **And in response to 22ablanchard: I know what your little theory is!**

 **Chapter 24**

 **Hiccup's Decision**

" **Ah, Cloudjumper** ," Toothless said, " **Good to see you made it back. What happened with the Defenders? Has the Eye been safely disposed of**?"

" **Not exactly—you are not going to believe what they—** "

The Night Fury suddenly tensed up. " **Did you hear that**?" Before Cloudjumper could answer he went charging up the stairs.

Hiccup was shoved onto the floor, his attacker falling on top of him while trying to stick a knife in him.

Astrid heard the noise and groggily opened her eyes. It took her a moment to realize what was going on, for the room was dark and she was still affected by the drugs, but when it dawned on her that her husband was using all his strength to prevent his throat from being cut, she cried out, fell out of bed, and fumbled around for her axe.

Hiccup kicked his attacker in the shin was his metal foot, but the man did his best to ignore it, so close was he to success. His eyes seemed to burn with eagerness and he was calling upon every ounce of his energy to deliver the finishing blow. His free hand went closer to Hiccup's throat and tightened its grip. Hiccup suddenly spat into the man's eyes and he inadvertently loosened his hold on him. It was all Hiccup needed. He pulled a knife out of a sleeve pocket and plunged it into the man's hand. The man cried out and fell backwards, falling off of him, while Hiccup climbed off the floor and punched him in the face. At that moment Toothless burst in, dove straight at the man and knocked the wind out of him as they slammed into the wall.

There were shouts from downstairs but Hiccup did not hear them. Nor did he see Astrid rushing towards him, her axe at the ready. He simply gestured for Toothless to back off and then grabbed the man by the neck and lowered his head so their faces were almost touching. "Give me one good reason why I shouldn't kill you right now," he whispered fiercely. He was trembling worse than his would-be murderer was.

"I was just fulfilling a contract," the man grunted.

"Oh is that what you call it? Is that what you call trying to murder a man in his own room?"

"I was just fulfilling a—"

There were so many things Hiccup wanted to shout at this man, but he kept them to himself. Instead he continued in a low and horrible tone, "I have every right to cut you up and feed you to a dragon right now. But I won't, because I want you to deliver a message. Go back to your 'client' and tell them how you failed—"

By this point Stoick and Valka had burst into the room. Cloudjumper was trying to squeeze his head and neck through the door while Stormfly was behind him trying to force her way in.

"—and tell them from me that if they don't drop this bounty immediately, I'll pay double to whomever brings me _their_ head! And remind him that unlike Berk his people are only loyal to the highest bidder!" He pulled the lever that lowered the section of the wall, picked up the man, and threw him screaming off the platform.

"He landed in the snow," Hiccup announced so blandly it was almost chilling, "Lucky him. Skullcrusher can collect him now. Tell Johann we've found his missing crew member—oh don't look so surprised, where else could he have come from?—anyhow, someone can ask Johann where he picked up this one, then a dragon can fly him there."

Astrid seized him by his arms, looking as terrified as he was furious. "Hiccup, talk to me! Are you alright? Are you hurt?"

Hiccup quickly put his hands on her shoulders reassuringly. "I'm fine, Astrid, I'm fine. It's alright, it's over." Abruptly he pulled away from her, "Stay here. I'll be back soon. Stormfly will stay with you, all right? Toothless, c'mon,"

Astrid tried to go with them but the sleeping drugs had made her so woozy she was compelled to sit on the bed. Stormfly now managed to enter the room and rushed over to her.

Hiccup stepped outside and saw Stoick dragging the hapless mercenary through the snow like a giant doll. The commotion was waking people and windows were lighting up along the pathway. Valka caught up to the prisoner and grabbed his shoulders, much as Hiccup had done. "You can also take a message from me to all your friends. If any of you try to hurt my son again, you might as well kill yourselves, or else you'll be begging me for death by the time I'm through with you."

"That goes double for me," Stoick growled, "Hang on son, where are you going?"

"Someplace where I can think, where nobody's going to try to kill me!" Hiccup yelled. Ignoring the falling snow and the cold wind, he and Toothless flew to the top of a sea stack. Only a very large and powerful catapult or dragons could attack them up there, and Hiccup knew that latter would not and the former was seldom found on ships. He slid off of Toothless and looked out over the ocean, thinking deeply and breathing with difficulty. Now that the attack was over he could calm his still racing heart and try to get his limbs to stop shaking.

" **Well, Bud, what now**?" He asked at last.

" **We've had prices on our heads before** ," Toothless said, as if trying to make light of the situation, " **Remember back in China**?"

" **They didn't exactly put a price on our heads that time—"**

" **They would've if we hadn't left first."** The dragon reminded him.

" **Well, we were going to leave anyway. Being a wanted man didn't matter then. But now…"** he sighed. " **If we aren't safe at home, where are we safe**?"

" **In the middle of nowhere**?"

" **We thought that before, and Adoncia still caught up with us**." He kicked a pile of snow. As he did so his gaze fell upon Berk and he could see, thanks to a bonfire in the Plaza, a lot of villagers had gathered. " **That's odd. Isn't it a bit cold and late for that many people to be outside?** "

" **Well the Tribe's next Chief did just get attacked—** "

Hiccup pulled out his spotting scope. " **Ah, that explains it. Mildew's giving another one of his speeches.** "

Toothless snorted. " **He must be spouting some new garbage about how we've doomed Berk and everything**."

" **And there goes Dad and my failed killer. They're both shouting. Judging by all the expressions, the mercenary's probably screaming Viggo's threats and Dad's no doubt telling everyone not to listen to him. There's Trader Johann—he always looks so nervous, doesn't he? It looks like Glidregar the Nadder will be transporting our mercenary. There goes Mildew again—does he ever know when to shut up? And everyone will end up with frostbitten liver as a result of standing outside and listening to him. And yet…"** He started pacing again. **"We've got to do something, Bud. If we don't regain the initiative fast all the tribes around here will assume I'm weak and useless again**." He froze in his tracks, " **But the weak and useless are frequently underestimated…** "

Stoick was also pacing around in the main room of his house, now that the assassin had been dealt with.

"Would you please stop doing that?" Valka cried impatiently. "All this pacing is not helping here!"

"And what will?" Stoick demanded, "Our son has a price on his head! How can we get Viggo to remove it?"

Astrid came slowly down the stairs. "Where is he?" she asked groggily.

"How're you feeling, lass?" Stoick asked in a tone a lot softer than it was a minute ago.

"I'm just fine." She said. She would probably have said the same thing if she had been cut in half. "I'm fine. Where's Hiccup?"

As if to answer the question, the door opened and Hiccup entered, followed by Toothless. They were covered in snow. Toothless looked like he was half albino. Hiccup's face turned bright red and he made straight for the fireplace, rubbing his hands together. "It's a bit chilly out there."

Astrid looked at him incredulously. "Is that all you can say after what just happened?"

"No." He straightened up, went to a cupboard, and started rummaging through the food, pulling out some apples and putting them in a bag. "I'm leaving,"

"WHAT?" Stoick and Valka exclaimed. Astrid looked at him fixedly. She had already guessed what he was doing.

Hiccup looked directly at his angry family. "Yes, I'm leaving Berk. I was just attacked in my bedroom—"

"Son, let's not act rashly here—"

"In my BEDROOM! WHILE MY WIFE WAS SLEEPING A FEW METERS AWAY, A MAN WAS WAITING IN A WARDROBE TO MURDER ME!" His voice lowered, but retained its edge. "I'm not risking it again, so I'm getting out of here while I still can."

"Son, we can protect you here!" Stoick insisted, "We can protect you better than we can if you're somewhere else!"

"Can you?" Hiccup retorted, "An assassin got into our house without anyone noticing—while Astrid was asleep! He could have killed her easily! It was just as fortunate for him he didn't." he added darkly. Stormfly, who was cramped in a corner, angrily nodded.

"I'd been drugged!" Astrid shouted, "If I'd had all my senses working fine I would have caught him!"

"I know that Astrid, but the fact is you _didn't_ have all your senses working fine. I'm not blaming you for what happened, but how can any of us believe we're safe if assassins are getting into our homes with ease and only sparing people because there's no profit in it? Surround me with bodyguards and they'll just get hurt or killed. You could _all_ get hurt or killed in the next attempt on my life. And sooner or later some mercenary is going to get lucky and I'll be gone permanently." He now looked directly at his father. "Look, do me a favor and think about this rationally, all right? What if I disappeared for a bit? Vanish into the wilderness, let those mercenaries disperse and try to hunt for me all winter, let Viggo assume he's won, and then, when the novelty's just starting to wear off, I'll slip back and we'll clobber those hunters once and for all."

"And just where would you go?" Stoick asked sharply.

"We," Astrid interrupted. "And what makes you think this would work anyway? Adoncia managed to find us in the wilderness several times, remember?"

"Yes, but that was Adoncia chasing us and she was riding a dragon. How many dragon hunters and mercenaries do you know use dragons?"

" **Don't give them any ideas** ," Stormfly shuddered.

"And just where would you go?" Stoick repeated. "And did you just come up with this plan so you can go do some more exploring?"

"Dad! I would not put a price on my own head to give me an excuse to go exploring! I'm not that desperate to see more of the world! Astrid—did I hear you right when you said 'we'?"

"Yes you did." she replied firmly. "Are you going to argue with me about it?"

"On the contrary, I'd feel a lot better if you were with me. Although there may be some risk involved,"

"And do you think that scares me?" she asked coldly. "There's risk involved no matter what we do."

Stoick put his hands up. "Stop it right now, both of you. Hiccup, there's no reason to believe you'll be safer in the middle of nowhere than here. Here at least we have the muscle to protect you. I'll assign human and dragon bodyguards, we'll search every ship that comes in, we'll have patrols out at all times, and the increasing ice and snow will discourage most mercenaries from coming here," he said reassuringly, "You'll be safer than anything on Berk has ever been before!"

"And what happens when the thaw comes?" Hiccup asked skeptically.

"By then you'll have come up with a plan to make the hunters back down and the weather will be calm enough for us to act." he said confidently.

" **He just did come up with a plan! Hide out for a while and confuse them**!" Toothless exclaimed.

"And you and I both gave warnings to that mercenary." Valka added to Stoick's statement, ignoring what Toothless had said, "If he spreads the warnings, it may convince others the risk isn't worth the reward and they'll give up. It won't stop all of them but it'll stop the majority."

"And the remaining minority will be the most daring, determined, greedy, and brutal of the lot, who'll have the best chance of succeeding." Hiccup said, "Sorry, but for the moment my safety lies in distance and speed. If we start now and keep to areas where there are no humans, it'll be long odds of them catching us. There's plenty of wilderness out there."

"But didn't you mention somebody who caught you before?" Valka asked.

"She's dead now. And I've learned from that trip. For one thing, I think there have been too many loose mouths already around here." He looked at his parents apologetically, "it might be safer if even you two didn't know where I'm going,"

Stoick looked even angrier at the idea but Valka understood what he was saying. "How long do you think you'd you be gone for?"

"Maybe five weeks, maybe as many as ten," Hiccup said slowly.

"Son, I really think you'll be safer here—"

Hiccup's patience was getting exhausted, and so was his physical state. His face looked aged, his hair was a tangled mess, and his body seemed ready to slump over at any moment, but his eyes were alive with burning fire. "That's enough."

"But Hiccup—"

"That's enough."

"No, it's not enough! We've got to—"

"Would you just hear me out?"

"—make a real plan, not just run off into the—"

"Are you even listening to me?"

"—wilderness where anything could happen and—hey, you look at me when I'm talking—"

"Oh here we go again—"

"Will you _listen_ for a change?" they exclaimed simultaneously.

"Did you rehearse this?" Valka asked curiously.

Stoick was about to regain the initiative but Hiccup held up a hand. He looked directly at his father, eye to eye. "Before I left Berk the first time you've been obsessed with keeping me safe and away from anything dangerous. You know, I think that's one reason why I enjoy the rush of adrenaline so much. And ever since I came back you still keep doing everything to keep your heir out of danger—"

"And what's wrong with that? You're my son!"

"I know that. But the way I see it, Berk isn't safe for me anymore. Those mercenaries will keep coming, and the longer I dangle here like a piece of bait the tastier the catch becomes. If I leave now, maybe I can lure them away from Berk and everyone here, and save myself at the same time. The way I see it, staying on Berk exactly what I should _not_ do."

Stoick was visibly hurt. But his silence implied he was agreeing to this, or so Hiccup thought at any rate. He went back to his packing.

Astrid cleared her throat. "Hiccup, does it have to be right this instant? Couldn't we sleep on this and talk about it in the morning? **You're father might be more receptive by then**. And no offense, but you look ready to collapse. You really should get some sleep."

"I'm fine, Astrid. And I'm leaving tonight."

"We are," she said flatly.

"I'll go get Greta," Valka said, "She'll want to say goodbye before you go,"

Stoick was shocked. "You agree with him too, Val?"

"Yes, Stoick. We tried our idea and look what happened! I think his plan is the best we can go with now."

Stoick was not sold completely on this, but with Valka agreeing to it he got the impression he had little choice. Then he shook his head. He was the Chief! _He_ gave the orders and made the decisions around here! If he said Hiccup should stay on Berk, Hiccup had to abide by his decision!

He mellowed almost as soon as he thought this. Just because he was Chief did not mean he was always right. And this was not some petty argument; this was his son's life!

Still, he wanted a bit more control over this situation. "Wait a minute, Val. Don't go anywhere yet. Son, tell me truthfully: you intend to just hide out? No adventures or picking fights or getting into trouble like last time?"

"Not if I can help it."

"Tell me where you're going anyway, in case I need to send a rescue team again."

"And what if Viggo captures you?"

"How could he capture me on my own island?" Stoick laughed.

"He could put a price on _your_ head," Hiccup suggested.

"I'd like to see him try!"

"He just might. And don't forget, Drago captured you on your own island."

"And Drago's dead. So are Adoncia and Dogsbreath. And assuming Viggo tried and actually succeeded, what makes you think I'd give up such information? Are you implying I'd crack?" Stoick snorted, "Viking's don't crack under torture!"

Hiccup raised his eyebrows and his body began twitching. Toothless groaned. Astrid put a hand over her mouth. Stoick was horrified when he realized what he had just said.

"Oh gods, son, I'm so sorry, I completely forgot about that!"

Valka was confused. "What did you forget about?"

" **Nothing relevant** ," Toothless said hastily. Hiccup had once pretended to crack under torture with Stoick and Astrid present. Stoick and his late brother Spitelout Jorgenson had made no effort to hide their disgust at his apparent weakness.

"Getting back to the point," Hiccup said with forced calmness, "Anybody can crack under torture, but a person can't say what they don't know. And Viggo is more likely to leave you alone once he realizes you can't aid him."

Stoick had some other ideas for how to meet this, but he got the feeling Hiccup had an answer to all of them. He had to decide then and there, could he trust his son's judgment would save his life?

"All right," he said at last, "Do it. But listen to me, you three," he pointed to Astrid, Stormfly, and Toothless, "You are _never_ to leave him alone, understand? And you are bringing him back safe and sound or so help me…" he did not need to finish his threat for them to get the point. "And you listen to me now, Hiccup: I want you back on Berk by Snoggletog. No excuses. If you aren't back by then, I'm going to hunt you down myself, if I have to search the entire world for you."

The young couple and their dragons were ready to go in under an hour.

"All right," Astrid said, "lower the wall and we'll be off. We'll fly straight up into the clouds before changing direction. Which direction are we going, anyway?"

"I'll tell you when we're in the air," Hiccup said cautiously. Astrid did not object.

" **Does it strike you that they're a bit paranoid**?" Stormfly asked.

" **Sometimes that makes the difference between life and death** ," Toothless reminded her. Maybe if they had been a bit more paranoid the Sanctuary would not have been destroyed, and maybe this whole mess with Viggo would never have happened.

They heard footsteps on the stairs. Stoick, Valka, and Greta Hofferson came into the room.

"You weren't thinking of leaving without saying 'goodbye' to your parents, now, were you?" Greta asked with a bemused look. Astrid at once went to her mother and hugged her with as much strength as she possibly could.

"You look after each other, now," Greta said hoarsely, "You're all I've got left of my family now." Then she brightened up. "And don't forget, Astrid, you owe me some grandchildren!"

"Mom!"

Greta laughed, "And you take care of her, Hiccup. And take care of yourself too, got it?"

"Don't I always?" Hiccup tried to grin. Astrid raised her eyebrows. "Don't answer that."

" **Don't worry, I'll look after them** ," Toothless promised. Valka patted him on the head and said " **You take care of yourself too. If Hiccup lost you, I don't know—"**

" **He won't** ," Toothless said shortly.

Hiccup turned to Stoick. "Well, Mom, Dad, I don't know exactly when we'll be back, but don't start worrying until after Snoggletog."

They nodded. An awkward silence came as the three of them just nodded, smiled, and shrugged uncomfortably. Stoick normally did not show his softer side when in the presence of others unless he was acting spontaneously. Valka's instinct was to hug her son as tightly as possible, but she could not help but wonder if she should act on it. Hiccup meantime was uncertain of what his parents was going to do and could not quite decide how he should react. Getting goodbye hugs from his parents, or any hugs at all for that matter, was still a rather rare occurrence. But finally, after Toothless gave an impatient snort, Stoick came forward and carefully gave his son a slight hug.

"You…you take care of yourself, son. You're the next Chief after all, you've got duties here and you can't perform them if you get…well, killed,"

"Thanks for the reminder. Don't worry; dying isn't on my priority list."

Valka suddenly joined the hug and it instantly became a lot more emotional. "You all look after each other. And don't lose another limb, alright?"

"That's another thing I have no intention of doing,"

"And I don't intend to lose one," Astrid added.

At last Hiccup broke out of the hug, "Now look, if Viggo tries anything against Berk…well, you know what to do if it comes to a fight. But don't forget, if he comes here it's our dragons he'll be after. I've already spoken to the dragons about this, but just in case. And deliver this parchment to Fishlegs as soon as possible."

"We'll hold Berk until Ragnarök," Stoick swore.

"No, Dad, don't do that. If something happens and you have to abandon the island, do it. If our tribe survives we can recover and rebuild what was lost, but—look, what I'm trying to say is, if Viggo pulls something and survival means fleeing and getting help elsewhere, do it."

"We will if we have to, but we won't because we won't have to," Stoick said firmly. "Drago couldn't destroy Berk and neither will Viggo."

"I hope not, but just in case, you know, it can't hurt to be prepared for the worst. I'd rather be ready for the worst and be pleasantly surprised later,"

"I know. And while you're gone I'm going to find out how that man escaped. We'll find him, somehow."

"Speaking of which," Hiccup handed him a sheet of parchment, "Give this to Fishlegs tomorrow." He turned to the dragons, " **all ready**?"

" **As ready as we'll ever be** ," Stormfly replied.

Stoick pulled the lever and the wall went down. The two large dragons spread their wings, Hiccup changed the tailfin positions, Astrid gripped her saddle, and everyone else watched them take off into the black winter's night.

"Keep them safe, Odin," Stoick whispered, and the two women beside him nodded silently.

Cloudjumper looked uneasily at the heavy clouds the dragon riders had disappeared into. " **I never did get to tell them what the Defenders of the Wing had decided to do with the Dragon Eye once they learned of Grimborn's escape**."

The following morning the Chief handed Fishlegs a note. It read:

" _Fishlegs, destroy this as soon as you've read it._

 _We need to know where Viggo's base of operations is. Get some volunteer dragons and have them let themselves be caught by dragon hunters. As you know, dragon hunters rarely kill dragons until the last minute, because dragon corpses tend to stink and decompose quickly, so the captives should be all right. Rescue teams will follow them from a safe distance, and will save the captives once a hunter ship's final destination is known. These hunter ships will make for a safe port once they've caught any dragons, and at least one of them is bound to head for Viggo's place. And tell every dragon that if an opportunity comes to capture Viggo, take it._

" _Good luck and tell everyone to be careful. I don't want any fatalities. I don't want Viggo to know what we're planning either. I hope you'll the information ready for me when I get back._

 _H,"_

Fishlegs was puzzled about why he was given the job, but he understood what Hiccup wanted and resolved to get started as soon as possible.


	25. Chapter 25

**I Own Nothing**

 **All Rights Reserved**

 **Due to some confusion that has come to my attention, I shall clarify my plans for this story: there are going to be 41 chapters. I write my chapters well in advance, and excluding revisions, I have just finished Chapter 39. I expect I will be done posting this story in October.**

 **To 22ablanchard: your theory was based on a deliberate red herring. I inserted a few slight hints to intentionally give readers the wrong idea. However, your theory will be correct later on!**

 **Chapter 25**

 **Viggo's Progress**

Hiccup had not been wrong about how Viggo and his people had escaped. They had received outside help, and once out of the prison they made at once for the docks under cover of darkness. To confuse their scents, they left behind Dragon Nip that had been provided from the outside and slipped into the cold water. From there they swam to a moored ship, where a hooded Viking was waiting to help them on board.

"I was promised a share of my own," he said.

"Once we're safe," Viggo replied in a whisper. They quickly went down to the cargo hold and there they took positions amidst barrels and nets. With the exception of Viggo, they were all visibly freezing and hungry. Dagur, who had been elated at their escape, now sat in his corner wondering if he had ever felt so miserable.

"I think I've jumped from one prison into another," Eret grumbled.

"Quiet," Viggo ordered. Everyone stayed as still and as silent as they could until at last they felt the boat drift free of the dock. Their only visitor the entire time had been the hooded Viking, who gave them a bit to eat and made certain nobody else entered the cargo hold, under the ruse that the Chief had entrusted him to guard a valuable item down there. Inevitably, the Chief found out about this and came in person to have a look at this valuable item he did not know he had placed there.

"Well, well, well," Mogadon said, "Look what we have here. Fish in a barrel."

"Let me do the talking," Viggo ordered his fellow stowaways, "Now listen, Mogadon, no doubt you are considering returning us to Berk. Well let me tell you now that would be a huge mistake. You are wise enough to know that Hiccup is becoming too powerful. He has made it his mission to ruin my honest business completely. To say nothing of your economic losses should he succeed, think about it: what will he go after next once my business is ruined forever? He talks about peace, but the truth is Hiccup has a very active mind, and he gets bored easily. When the challenge of ruining dragon hunting is gone, he will find new challenges—like how to conquer territory without provoking a war with everyone else. Yes, I can easily see his fertile imagination coming up with ways to do this."

Mogadon did not really buy this. "So you're saying once he finishes you off he'll come after the rest of us? Then wouldn't it be better to hand you over to him and establish an alliance between our tribes?"

"Oh, it may in the short term, but in the long run, be realistic, Mogadon, how many alliances last? People create 30 year truces that fall apart within 3. Hiccup will be grateful to you at first, yes, perhaps your tribe will be one of the last ones he goes after, but sooner or later he will decide all debts have been paid and all deals are too old to worry about, and he will come after you. Mark my words, the way things are moving now, in 5 years Hiccup will have control of half the Archipelago, in 10 years time he'll control all of it,"

"Unless we stop him first," Mogadon replied with a smirk.

"Hiccup is clever. He will pick off certain tribes that are not part of any alliances. Then he will sit back and watch as other tribes fight over the newly available territory, and when they are all exhausted and beaten—"

"'E'll swoop in like a vulture an' feed on the dead pieces," Hognose interrupted.

"I despise metaphors, but the boy has the gist of it correct. And once that is done, do you think the remaining tribes will stand a chance?"

Mogadon was not entirely convinced that this would happen, but Viggo's words had given him an idea to ensure it did not. Hiccup was after the Dragon hunters, and if Viggo was free it was very likely the Hunters would rise to become a threat once more. In that case, it was very possible both might destroy each other enough so that the Meatheads could swoop in and feed on the dead pieces. He would let Viggo loose so that Viggo would serve as a buffer zone. With Hiccup busy fighting the hunters he would not want to start a fight with the Meatheads, and then they would watch and see what happened. But that all depended upon Hiccup not knowing who was helping the Hunters escape.

"All right," Mogadon said eventually, "I will let you stay here, and when we reach safer waters I'll give you a ship, but no more. And in return…I noticed you did not offer anything for my silence,"

"I merely assumed a man of integrity such as you would be offended to receive bribe offers," Viggo said silkily.

"Please. I'm a Viking. Any Viking who thinks they're above bribes is a fool. So here's my price: you will not let anyone know who helped you, you are to not attack my tribe or harm it in any way, and I want a million in gold at the earliest possible opportunity. And it would be very bad business, Viggo, if you failed to deliver," he added dangerously.

"It will be done," Viggo said soothingly, "Do not fear, my friend. Once I have safely returned to my headquarters I will send the money at once. And I certainly have no intention of telling Hiccup how we escaped."

"I can't believe he went along with that," Dagur said once Mogadon left. "I mean, Hiccup's not really that dangerous, right?"

"Oh he did not believe me, Dagur," Viggo replied, "he merely saw his own interests would be better served by allowing us to go free. Every man acts in their own self interest, always remember that."

When Gustav came by, Mogadon's people had honestly said 'there was no one on board who shouldn't have been.' It was one of those technical and evasive loopholes. Nevertheless, Mogadon feared Hiccup would be suspicious and the next night he had his ships pull into a small port, supposedly for supplies and minor repairs. From there Viggo and his people were on their own.

Eret had made up his mind to slip away quietly and find work on an honest merchant ship, but once they were ashore Ryker kept close to him, reminding him that Viggo, in his own words, " _truly_ disliked it when his dear friends became deserters. It would hurt Viggo so much that he would search the entire world to find friends who'd abandoned him in his time of need and give them a firm reprimand." Eret got the point, but the implied threat only served to make him less of a friend to Viggo than ever before.

"At least the Dragon King never acted this way to me." he thought.

From the port they stole a boat and sailed east.

"It was cheaper than buying one." Viggo remarked wistfully.

"Yeah, we're gonna have to cut down on expenses where we can," Ryker agreed, "with all these bribe offers and our business in shambles,"

"Oh I won't be paying any of the bribe offers," Viggo replied calmly. "And there's nothing our dear friends can do to make me."

"They could rat you out to Hiccup,"

"Of course they will. I rather hope they do. It will show him just how fickle his own people are. No, my money is staying where it is."

"An' what about our business?" Ryker asked, "We still don't have the Eye, and thanks to being locked up, I'll wager profits have reached an all time low,"

"You let me dwell on that," Viggo replied firmly, "do not worry yourself."

"But I do worry, brother! How can we maintain a business after such a failure? Who's gonna buy from us now? Who's gonna hunt for us now? Where are we going to catch dragons? How about the costs of equipment? What are we gonna do, Viggo?"

"As I said, you let me dwell on that. And I'd watch your words if I were you. You're starting to sound like Eret, and you would not want that at all."

"And what are we gonna do about Eret? Why not just execute him or let him go, if he wants to leave us so badly?"

"We will not let him go because he knows too much and it would look bad for us to lose our best hunter. As for executing him…" Viggo stroked his beard. "I will consider it. Losing his services would be a shame, of course, but if he continues to carry on this way…perhaps we should warn him that his life depends on his future conduct. But then again, we already have. Perhaps he needs reminding."

"You didn't mind me killing Draccus. Why worry about Eret's life so much?"

"Draccus was useless and was deliberately undermining me. Eret has not reached that point yet. But at the rate he's going he soon will be. See to it someone keeps an eye on him."

"What about Dagur? His sister's with the Defenders!"

"So what?"

"He might side with her against us!"

Viggo straightened up. "The way you talk, I am starting to wonder if you are secretly trying to divert attention from yourself."

Ryker paled. "Viggo, I swear, I am with you to the end! It's just…I'm concerned, all right! Look, I don't have your brains for big schemes and elaborate plans."

"But I do," Viggo replied, "and I assure you, Ryker, we will get through this and at the end, our enemies will all be gone and we will be richer than all the Kings put together."

Ryker nodded. "All right. So what do we do first?"

"First we put dear Hiccup on the defensive."

And they did. At the next port they stopped at, they put the word out that Hiccup now had a massive price on his head. From there they sailed on and made for Viggo's castle and headquarters, Grimmige Festung, the black castle overlooking a fjord.

When they arrived Viggo felt as safe as he ever did. The castle was built of marble, which was one of the few natural materials which could withstand dragon fire, and the position made it almost impossible to attack, for an army could only approach from one side and that side had the best defenses. Grimmige Festung was where all of his plans were laid, and it was here that he intended to finalize the plans to finish off Berk and the Dragon King once and for all. He already had ideas, but he had always found sitting in his private room provided the proper atmosphere for thinking decisively.

Nobody was allowed in this room but him and one slave, who cleaned it on certain days and attended Viggo. This was where Viggo stored his account books, which included detailed information on his deals, enemies and allies, and anything else he deemed important. Being a good business meant keeping records and being able to consult them, and Viggo did not trust anybody else to handle them or even see them. Once he was securely locked in his room, those records were the first thing he checked, and to his relief they were all intact and untouched. And with that he sat down to think about all that he had learned during his time on Berk and to decide what he was going to do with that place.

For the rest of the hunters, the main task was to get the castle back in order, and this did not please them, for they saw it as demeaning grunt work. This cleaning and reorganizing went on for several days, and only one thing happened to interrupt it.

Viggo was in his room pouring over a map, again, when someone knocked at the door. "Yes?"

"Viggo, it's me," Ryker yelled, "We've got a visitor, and you're not gonna believe who it is!"

"Oh? Did the Dragon King change sides or something? Or better still, has a mercenary brought me the Dragon King's head?" Viggo asked in exasperation. "I'll join you in a minute in the room below." The room below was where Viggo conducted business that could not be done by him alone. He locked away his charts and parchments and went downstairs, but first made certain to lock the door to his room, as was customary for him.

The first person he saw when he entered the room was Dagur's sister Heather. His face betrayed no visible reaction. Instead he sat down at a large table and said "Well, well, well. And what can we do for you today, my dear?"

"My sister's come to join us!" Dagur shouted happily, dancing a jig where he stood and earning dubious stares from Ryker and Windshear, who amazingly had gotten into the room. Heather and Viggo kept their faces clear of emotion. "Oh happy days! Happy, happy days! Now we'll be invincible! We'll bash those little dragon riders and smash their heads in and plant spoons on their graves! Pretty little spoons with oyster shell handles! I love oysters, you know! Soon the doom flower will be in bloom! Doom in Bloom!"

"Honestly, my dear Heather, I fail to see any family resemblance between the two of you," Viggo remarked silkily, "Now, Dagur, please be quiet and let us hear what your sister has to say for herself."

"Thank you," Heather said stiffly. She was holding a bag in one hand and carried her axe in the other. "I'll cut to the chase: I'm here to join up."

"I beg your pardon?"

"I'm here to join you," Heather said, "I'm here to offer my talents to you and your business."

"Why?" Ryker demanded roughly.

"Because she's a Berserker at heart and now she wants to be with her brother!" Dagur cheered.

"I must agree with Ryker," Viggo said, "you were instrumental in our capture earlier, and now you must excuse me if I wonder why you are suddenly switching sides,"

"I'll tell you why," Heather said. She was visibly seething with anger, "First, I left the Defenders because Mala, that self absorbed religious zealot, didn't want Windshear to be with us. She kept saying 'Heather, set the dragon free this instant.' Well Windshear's my friend, a very dear friend, and what's wrong with wanting to spend time with them? But no, Mala's so blinded she won't listen to a thing!"

"So you are joining dragon hunters?" Viggo said skeptically, "why not just return to Berk?"

"That's the other reason I'm here," Heather said darkly, "Snotlout. That dirty little rat tried to rape me!"

"What?" Dagur exclaimed.

"Yes! And when I dragged him to Hiccup, that perverted pig swore it was all lies, and Hiccup believed him! You know what Hiccup said to me? He said 'Snotlout doesn't have the nerve or brains to rape anyone.' He said that! That creep tried to rape me—I was _violated_!—and Hiccup treated it like it was all some joke!" She slammed her fist into the table. "I want them to pay, Viggo. Hiccup, Snotlout, Mala, and I don't care about the rest of Berk or any other dragon. Let me have my revenge and I'll be eternally grateful."

"So why did you not help us escape?"

"Yeah, why didn't you help your big brother?" Dagur demanded.

"I didn't help you because I wasn't there. My ship left before you guys escaped, and it was only once I was at sea that the last straw was broken."

Viggo nodded slowly. "And how did you know where to find us?"

"Oh the Defenders are useful for a few things, I'll give them that. Their last prisoner told them about Grimmige Festung. I knew you escaped because we received messages from Berk about it. It took some time to find, but I succeeded. And don't worry, as far as I know, Hiccup doesn't know about this place."

"And what do you want from me in return for your services? What is your full price?" Viggo asked.

"Nothing you can't afford. I want my revenge, as you know, and I want your solemn word that no matter what you do to dragons from this day on, Windshear is exempted from it."

Viggo understood. "You want my assurances that we will not kill Windshear and sell her like any other dragon,"

"Exactly,"

"Well you have it, my dear. A Razorwhip alive would be a valuable asset to us. But what proof do we have of your loyalty?"

"Yeah, how do we know you aren't some spy or something?" Ryker demanded.

"If I was a spy, would I bring you this?" Heather raised the bag she was holding and handed it to Viggo, who handed it to Ryker. Ryker opened it and gasped. Inside was the Dragon Eye.

"With 6 lenses," Heather announced, "that was all I could recover. Mala threw the rest into the ocean."

"Give it to me right now, Ryker" Viggo ordered, and he did not relax until the Eye and the lenses were securely in his hand. "Well, Heather, I reward those who bring me what I want. We will find a place for you, do not worry. Dagur, why don't you go show her around and help her find a place to stay? A little family bonding time," he added with a slight smirk, "Ryker, wait here." He returned to his room and securely locked away the Dragon Eye. When he returned to the room below Ryker was the only occupant.

"Well, what do you think of this?"

"I don't trust her," Ryker growled. "She's a spy!"

"I imagine she is," Viggo replied, "On the other hand, she brought us the Eye and she could be useful as a double agent. So let us wait and watch. If she is truly on our side, we shall let her prove it and be better off. And if she is a spy, we will use her to our advantage and watch her stick her head into her own noose,"

"And how do we get her to do that?" Ryker asked eagerly, "Ask her to bring us Hiccup's head? She did say she wanted revenge against him,"

"A charming notion and a futile one. Now that the bounty has been placed, Stoick will try to protect his son at all costs. Heather will never get a chance to behead him, much less get away with it,"

"So what do you plan to do?"

"You will know when the time is right. For now, ready the ships. All of them. I want them disguised so they will not be identified as ours. And prepare them to take on a lot of live cargo."

Ryker nodded but paused. "You said Heather will never get a chance. Why put a bounty on his head then?"

"That is my business. I did have hopes someone might have succeeded already, but it seems mercenaries these days are pathetic weaklings. No wonder business is flagging with such people."

"Still, if nothin' else, Hiccup's probably not very happy right now." Ryker grinned. "You've given him a few sleepless nights as likely as not. Right, we'll get the ships outfitted. But will it be a long voyage? Because if it is, we might wanna postpone it a bit—just hear me out, all right?—it's just that winter's here and our ships might not be able to handle the bad weather over a long distance!"

"They are built to cope with dragons, are they not?" Viggo growled. "Then a little wind and snow ought not to be a problem, and you will ensure they are not. It will be a long voyage and we are making it. I will not delay for something as trivial as bad weather."

Dagur was thrilled to be walking down the cold stone corridor with Heather. Windshear followed behind them warily. "It's great to finally get to talk to you again—without swinging swords and bars in the way, you know!"

"And whose fault was it for those?"

"Hiccup's, of course! You see, Heather, I am a misunderstood man! I try to play nice but all the kids wanna play dirty," He puffed out his chest proudly, making him look a bit like a rooster.

"Like your own tribe?" Heather hinted, "From what I've heard, Berk sent you and what was remained your tribe back home after you paid a ransom. Less than a week later it was unanimously decided by the Berserkers that you were unfit to be Chief and you were exiled. And Hiccup mentioned you'd gone to live with what was left of the Outcasts afterwards,"

"Yeah, that's pretty much what happened. But I only went to the Outcasts because I was looking for you!" Dagur replied proudly. "I thought for years you were dead, but then I learned you were still alive! I should tell the world about it! My sister's alive!" he started shouting to everything they passed, namely stone blocks and torch holders. "My Sister's alive! Oh yes, happy days at last! I've earned them, I can tell you that!"

"How'd you find out anyway?" Heather asked. She was curious despite herself.

"Oh right, yes—well, mom had some relatives somewhere, so she sailed to visit them and took you with her. You know how it is, long voyage, bad weather, all we know is the ship never made it to our relatives. Old Oswald assumed it went down with everybody on board,"

Heather stopped where she was. So that was why she had been on that ship and why nobody from her original family had found her until now.

"But then, last year, shortly before Alvin joined us, the Outcasts raided some islands and took prisoners. I heard them boasting about it, and I realized they were talking about you! See, Alvin liked how Drago had used Adoncia to spy on Berk by seducing someone and he suggested we take it one step further by planting another spy there. He said he had a girl who would be perfect—they had learned that she had been found in a shipwreck and a kindly couple had taken her in. It was just the kind of story to win Berk's sympathy. The more I listened the more the similarities lined up. But, as you know, we lost the battle and the plan was never put into action. So when I was banished from home, I decided to go to the Outcasts and find you. But—"

"We'd already escaped," Heather finished.

"Right! Nearly every Outcast joined in that battle on Berk. When the survivors returned to Outcast Island they found every prisoner had escaped! Escaped! Flew the coup! Free as little birdies flying over the treetops! I only learned this when I went there myself. Without Alvin or any of the leaders left alive the Outcasts weren't in any condition or mood to pursue their prisoners, so that was that. I stayed there a while, learned what more I could, and then sailed off on my own. Then, mostly by accident, I ran into Viggo. And I joined him, because I knew Viggo was bound to come into conflict with Berk sooner or later, and I wanted to be there!"

"For revenge?"

"Why not? You want revenge on Snotlout, don't you?"

"Of course I do!" Heather hastily assured him.

"And our little brother needs a lesson! We've gotta teach him what happens when he breaks the hearts of his family!"

Heather eyed Dagur nervously. "Dagur…is Hiccup really our younger brother?"

Dagur suddenly sniffed. A tear was in his eye. "I certainly like to think of him that way,"

"And what about our father Oswald? What happened to him?" She knew the rumors said Dagur had killed Oswald himself.

Dagur looked around. "Don't go shouting this to anyone, promise? I can see you think I killed him, but I didn't. Oh sure, I've hinted about it all the time and let the rumors run everywhere, but that was for show." His voice lowered, "See, I became Chief after Dad had a small illness and disappeared. I wanted everyone to be afraid of me and to respect me. So I started hinting I'd killed him. I'd imply his dinner had been poisoned and his body was at the bottom of the sea. Given how I love throwing people over the sides of ships, nobody doubted it" He suddenly laughed, "I always wondered how I'd explain everything when he came back, but he never did."

"Never?"

"Never. Maybe he moved into a dragon's nest. It seems to be the standard for runaways these days. Hey, I just rhymed! Say, did you know our cousin Gornge's name rhymes with orange? Kidding! We don't have a cousin Gornge! Or do we? I forget."

"I don't know," Heather said carefully.

"And just wait! Once we get things organized, we'll go to Berk and pay those people back for what they've done to us! My blades long for blood! They're so lonely. They need blood to keep them company. Blood and steel go so well together, don't you agree?"

"But Dagur, have you ever thought about why Hiccup seems to always win?"

"Beginner's luck. And from what I've heard, he won't be winning for much longer. Isn't it true he ran away a week ago?"

"So I've heard," Heather said, "Still, you sided with Drago and lost everything except your life. Then you sided with Viggo and, aside from escaping from jail, are you really any better off?"

"Are you talking treason?" Dagur suddenly exclaimed.

"Not at all. I'm just wondering why Hiccup seems to be coming out on top and we're not."

"Well just you wait! His coming out on top won't last forever! And here's your room! I'll leave you to get settled, if you like!"

The room was about as bare of luxury as expected. It was nothing but four walls, a floor, ceiling, and a crude bed that was probably full of fleas and bedbugs.

"Charming," Heather said dryly.

"It's better than a cell or nothing," Dagur remarked, "Oh, and one more thing," his voice lowered again, "Heather, you should know, if you turn out treacherous, it's very likely Viggo will make me kill you myself, and kill us both if I refuse to."

Heather looked horrified. "Are you saying—?"

"What I'm saying is watch it, or else our family goes extinct," Dagur said, and for a change he looked serious. Heather nodded warily. "Oh, and one more thing again. Keep in mind, what a person says and what a person really thinks are two different things," With that he grinned at her and slipped away.

" **Whose side is he on**?" Windshear exclaimed. Heather did not know what the Razorwhip had said, but she was thinking the same thing. She just could not tell what Dagur was doing. Was he firmly with Viggo, a double agent, a spy, was he testing her to determine her own loyalties? At any rate, the fleeting sense of kinship had passed and she resolved to be as wary of him as she was of everyone else.

There was a knock at the door.

"So it's true," Eret son of Eret said, "You've betrayed your friends and tribe,"

"I have my reasons," Heather said stiffly. Eret nodded. He looked disappointed.

"Doubtless. I just have a quick question for you. Is it true Hiccup left Berk about week ago?"

"Yes?"

"And that Snotlout went with him?"

Heather's brow furrowed. "I thought it was Astrid who went with him."

"Oh right. Yes, she did, but I heard Snotlout has also left Berk."

"News to me," and she was telling the absolute truth here.

"Hmm…"

"What?"

"Oh, I'm just wondering why the Dragon King would just abandon Berk so suddenly unless he's up to something. I wonder if anybody else knows what he's doing."

"Don't look at me," Heather said sharply, "I'm in the dark as much as you are."

Eret left and she thought about this new information. She had a few guesses about why Hiccup and Astrid had vanished, but what on earth was Snotlout doing? Was it all part of some elaborate plan or was he just being Snotlout? She hoped Fishlegs might explain this in his next letter, assuming it ever reached her.

She set about organizing the room with the few things she had. There was nowhere for Windshear to sleep, but she hoped the dragon did not care about bedding. Then she heard a noise yet again and whipped around. Hognose was standing behind her.

"Forget where your own quarters are?" she asked scornfully.

"They're right 'ere," Hognose grinned, "Anywhere yer sleepin' works jest fine fer me!"

Windshear growled loudly. Heather readied herself for a fight. "Now look, Hognose, I'm going to make this very clear: touch my body once and it will be the last thing you ever do."

"Can't I at least have a look?"

Heather whipped out a knife and threw it at him. She missed on purpose, but only by a few centimeters. Hognose shrieked and ran for it. "That was your last warning!" Heather shouted after him, "The next time I throw something at you it'll go right through your heart—assuming you actually have one!" She retrieved the knife from the wall, then reentered the room and slammed the door shut.

"We'll get through this, Windshear," she said through clenched teeth, "We'll get through this,"


	26. Chapter 26

**I Own Nothing**

 **All Rights Reserved**

 **When it comes to getting Reviews for this story, I give up.**

 **Chapter 26**

 **On the Run**

Hiccup, Astrid, and their dragons flew rapidly and swiftly crossed from Berk to Black Forest of Germany and into the Alps. Winter had already descended in these regions. The only spots in the Black Forest that looked black were the sections of pines and firs that had no snow on them. Aside from this, the forest was pure white. Snow fell heavily night and day, the wind howled at times, especially when they got into the Alps, and the skies were almost always gray and cloudy. It was fortunate for them they had fire breathing dragons, because the humans were freezing half the time. And yet Hiccup was satisfied with the weather.

"I almost pity any mercenary trying to follow us through this weather," he laughed one night. They had to brush snow off of them every few minutes and the dragons, who were both asleep after a hard flight, were almost buried under the snow.

Astrid was partly pleased, but also partly unsettled by what was going on. "Are you sure this is the honorable thing to do?"

Hiccup's smile vanished. "What do you mean? You volunteered to come with me, remember?"

"Yes, I volunteered to come to look after you and protect you, but are you sure you made the right decision?"

"It's a bit late to have second thoughts, isn't it?"

"I just feel uneasy about leaving Berk. How do we know Viggo won't make some move while we're here?"

"It's me he's after," Hiccup said, "He put the bounty on me, not on Berk,"

"What if we're doing exactly what he wants? I know Berk is strong, but if he did try something and I miss it because I'm out here and my mother gets hurt—well," she made an effort to be smile and her tone became forcibly lighter, "Well, no sense in worrying about what we can't help, right? So where exactly are we going? You've been pretty vague about it."

"We're going to the Isle of Night,"

Astrid's eyes widened. "I thought you said this was not about exploring!"

"And it isn't. My plan came to mind first and I picked the location when I was developing it. But hardly anybody knows where this island is, it's far from the Archipelago, the weather will probably be a bit warmer, and I figured, since I'll probably never get another chance, I might as well make the most of it."

"Never get another chance?"

"Yeah. I assume Dad will make me Chief officially once we get back. He was planning to do that right after the wedding celebrations, but Viggo escaped and then this came up. But I don't doubt he'll make me Chief the next time I'm on Berk." He looked uncomfortable about it. Astrid knew he still felt insecure about being Chief and did not like giving up his perceived freedom, and he knew she knew this. They both knew there was nothing new about this subject to talk about.

Suddenly Hiccup shifted his position. "Astrid, tell me truthfully: do you think we did the right thing? If you say no, we can turn around first thing tomorrow."

"I thought _you_ were convinced this plan would work!"

"And I was, but when I hear my wife expressing doubts about it, I start to wonder if she's right and if maybe I should have gotten a second opinion first," he said seriously.

"I don't doubt the plan itself, Hiccup, I just wonder if we could have tried something else instead." She thought a minute. "But honestly, I think you were right to get away from Berk for the time being."

Hiccup smiled. "We'll go to the Isle of Night, spend a day or two exploring it—I don't expect to find much, and someday I'll probably send Fishlegs to take a closer look—and then we'll make for home as fast as possible. I imagine we'll be back on Berk within 3 or 4 weeks."

"And what if we do find something? What if we find Night Furies?"

Hiccup was trying not to get his hopes up. "If we do, then I'm going to try and persuade them to side with us. If they're anything like Toothless, a flock of Night Furies would be a very valuable asset."

"It certainly would shock and scare the hunters," Astrid agreed.

Hiccup smiled and shook snow from his hair. "So this little excursion is not just for thrills and exploring. We're also looking for potential allies. Obscure and unlikely allies, yes, but help can turn up anywhere,"

"And then we take care of Viggo. Got any plans?"

"Several. And if our friends do their parts, we'll have no trouble putting them into action. I hope." He shuddered, "Planning scares me a bit sometimes. There's always a fear of 'what if this goes wrong?' or 'what if it's just what the enemy wants me to do?' Maybe I'm just overestimating Viggo's abilities, but a man who's managed to succeed despite all the odds being against him isn't someone to be taken lightly."

Astrid smiled, "Hiccup, if you're worried about Viggo's abilities, I know something that he is absolutely terrified of."

"Oh? And what's that?"

"You,"

Once they crossed the Alps, in miserably wet weather that offered few opportunities to see spectacular landscapes, they made their way into eastern Italy. Almost as soon as they did, the snow levels gradually became lower and lower, and the air became noticeably warmer, by default, for it was still cool. They still ran into rain, but even that began to cease the further south they went.

From the south-easternmost end of Italy, it was a three day crossing over the Mediterranean. Hiccup had wanted to travel through Egypt, but thought the location was too well known and too predictable. So instead they went straight south and camped amidst a massive series of stone ruins in the middle of a desert. Here and there a few olive trees stood. They were completely alone amidst the wide and fairly flat landscape.

There was no snow anymore, not any hint that some would come soon. The air was much warmer. The sky near the horizon was golden yellow, while the upper part was a deep blue. A few bright stars were appearing, shining like little crystals of ice.

Hiccup gestured to the ruins they were sitting in. "This was once a Roman city named Thysdrus. The citizens revolted against one of their emperors. Loyal troops put it down, and the city never really recovered. And over in that direction is what's left of the city of Kairouan. You can see its remains more easily from the air."

"Is that Roman too?" Astrid asked.

Hiccup smiled bitterly and shook his head. "The Romans haven't controlled these parts for centuries. From what I've heard, it's the Arabs and the Berbers who fight for dominance here now. I've never actually been this far west in Africa. The revolt of Thysdrus is mentioned in some of the histories I've read. That's why I chose to come this way. I learned about the Arabs and Berbers, and Kairouan from Toothless eavesdropping on local caravans the last time we were in Africa. People talk a lot, you know."

" **Yes I do know** ," Toothless grumbled humorously, " **I live with one who doesn't shut up!** "

" **Poor Toothless** ," Stormfly chuckled.

Astrid pointed to the south. "What's that?"

Hiccup pulled out his spyglass and grinned. "Well I'll be. That's one of those Roman arenas. Here, take a look. They held their races and death matches in them." As soon as he handed Astrid the glass he pulled out his journal and began to sketch.

This was more impressive than the castle she had seen. The castle had just been stone walls, but this was stone walls with gaping holes intentionally knocked into them, and shaped to form a giant oval. It looked like long and curved rows of arches were piled on top of each other. Through the arches she could faintly make out rows of stones, which were clearly meant to be seats for spectators. For a person who had lived only in buildings made of wood, the fact that people centuries ago had built such a structure out of stone was incredible.

"Those Romans built well," Hiccup remarked when she told him this. "I've seen roads that they built nearly a thousand years ago, and they're still useable."

"It's such a shame that they're all gone," Astrid said, "that all that's left are ruins and abandoned buildings. Is that what's going to happen to Berk one day?"

"It's what happens to everything sooner or later. Nothing really lasts forever." Hiccup said soberly. "It makes me wonder what's so special about people like me and Viggo, that makes us create so much trouble for everyone, when in a few decades we'll both be dead and forgotten."

" **If you cause trouble, it's because you're trying to do the right thing and people won't let you** ," Stormfly said.

" **The right thing for whom**?" Hiccup asked with a rueful smile. " **Certainly I'm not doing the right thing for Viggo—although it** _ **could**_ **be if he'd just let it be so**." He added roughly, " **He could have settled down somewhere and lived a peaceful and prosperous life. He didn't** _ **have**_ **to put a bounty on me**."

Astrid suddenly pointed. "I see people! At least a dozen of them are by the ruins of the arena!"

Toothless looked up sharply. " **They might be bandits. Stormfly, watch the north and west, I'll take the south and east**."

Hiccup took the spyglass from her, looked a bit, and then shook his head. "We're not sticking around to find out. Let's mount up and fly west—and stay low." He did not want to be seen by anyone if he could help it. Back in England, gossip and reports about the Witch Incident had helped Adoncia recover their trail. None of them wanted to have another incident that might help mercenaries or Viggo find them.

"Did you see their skin?" Astrid asked as they flew. "It was brown! I've never seen anything like it. Are they just all sunburned or something?"

"No, I believe their skin is naturally that way," Hiccup said, "Adoncia had darker skin than yours, remember?"

"I only saw Adoncia in the middle of a battle. I didn't have time to study it. And her skin wasn't as dark as theirs is. Why do you think they look that way?"

Hiccup shrugged. "Well, you know how certain colors reflect light and heat better than others? I'd say—and this is only a theory—that for people who live where the sun and heat are a lot more severe, having darker skin helps them stay cool."

Astrid was fascinated. "So if we stayed here for the rest of our lives, our skin would end up like theirs?"

"Possibly. Do you want to test the theory?"

She would have hit him except they were too far apart for that. "I'm quite happy living on Berk, thank you!"

" **I wonder why humans don't have skin colors like us** ," Stormfly remarked, " **I've never seen a blue human before** ,"

" **Maybe they do exist somewhere** ," Toothless said, " **why not? Fish are blue, birds are blue, dragons are blue, reptiles are blue; why can't humans be blue too? Or red, or green, or any other color out there**?"

"That would be weird," Astrid snorted, "a green human!"

"Does the color really matter?" Hiccup asked, "They're still human."

"Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III, you're a philosopher," Astrid said lightly.

Maybe he was. Being amidst timeless sands of the desert and walking around ancient ruins did make him feel philosophical. Yet no matter where they went, he never forgot the fact that somewhere out there a man wanted him dead. He had been a wanted man before, but this time it felt different, because every time in the past he had simply evaded the danger by moving to another place and never going back. This time, sooner or later, he was going to have to return to the place of danger.

Back on Berk, Stoick was uneasy about a lot of things. They had heard nothing from Hiccup, and while that had been expected, it did not make him feel any better. He could only hope that in this case no news was good news.

As if Hiccup and Astrid being gone was not enough, within two days after their departure Snotlout and Hookfang disappeared. Nobody had any idea where he had gone or why, and the search parties had all returned empty handed. Stoick could only hope that Hookfang had joined in a nesting migration and Snotlout had gone with him. It was the less worrisome explanation.

And then came something very disturbing, to put it mildly. One morning Stoick was making a trench through the fresh snow on his way to the Plaza and discovered a box that had not been there the night before. When he opened it the first thing he found was a piece of parchment. On it was a sketch of a Maces and Talons game, depicting one player being clearly one move away from winning. And then he looked down and saw a severed head inside the box. It was the head of the man who had tried to kill Hiccup in his room.

Stoick at once ordered patrols to increase their frequency and cover more area.

Viggo's fleet of ships had just reached Calais and was undergoing repairs and modifications when he decided on a slight change of plans. He made his decision when some new intelligence was brought to him.

"So the boy Snotlout Jorgenson was seen passing through the area just a few days ago. Interesting. No word of where Hiccup and his dragon have gone?"

Ryker shook his head. "For all we know they vanished into thin air!"

"But perhaps the Jorgenson boy knows." Viggo mused, "Even if he does not, he'd be more useful to us a captive than free. One ship will change course and go after him. Heather will go with them to help them track him. Oh don't worry, brother, she will have no choice but to go along with this and help us. If she does not, she will pay the full penalty, just like that nameless man whose head she dropped off at Berk. Make that clear to her. She either helps us and thrives, or hinders us and is crushed. That is good business sense."

Astrid stepped barefooted through the sea and made her way to the sandy beach. She had never once been in water that was warm enough to relax in, and as she felt it splash against her lower legs, felt the warm air wafting lightly on her arms and face, and felt the warm sand between her toes, she felt incredibly languid and tranquil.

"If I stayed here for long I'd forget all my training," she remarked wistfully. That was doubtful, because during their evenings she had often spent time sparing with Hiccup, so he could adjust to his new swords.

They had reached the island cluster called Canaris. The island she was wading her way towards was where they were camping on. It was not the true location of the Isle of Night, which they had overshot intentionally. Hiccup had wanted to have a look at the islands first before heading there. He had not wanted to startle anybody that might be living on the Isle of Night.

Astrid could not see the Isle of Night from where she was, for another island was blocking the view, but she would never have guessed a place called 'Isle of Night' was located in such a bright and sunny place. The glittering sea was robin's egg blue which seemed to merge with the sky. The few clouds were pure white. When she thought about what weather Berk was probably experiencing and how cold it was, she found it highly amusing. Who would have thought that during this time of year she would be wading through a balmy ocean towards a balmy island?

She got on Stormfly and they flew back to their camp. The island was not all sandy beaches. In fact, the majority of it was mountainous and forested. According to Toothless, it had been made by volcanoes, which accounted for the fertile soil and spectacular landscape, which contained many sharp ridges and ravines. There were trees all over the place. Palm trees were along the coastline, while the forests were made up of trees Astrid could not identify. Most of them were covered in moss and had no leaves on them, leaving them to look like legs of giant spiders forcing their way out of the earth. There were a lot of ferns too in the area. After being in the desert, it was strange to be in a place that was so green.

They had set up camp near a stream that ran down the slopes, making its way to the ocean. The water was drinkable and the stream was not so noisy that it kept them awake at night. Being in a forest near a source of water on a warm day increased the humidity. Any locals, who had been thus far unseen and undetected, would not have noticed it at all, but the Vikings found a considerable difference in temperature compared to what they were used to. And this was a bit of a problem, as the winter clothes they had been traveling in had increasingly become just extra baggage. So Astrid arrived at the campsite and saw Hiccup had taken his sweaty shirt off. It still sent a chill up her spine to see how many scars were on his back. And to think she had once believed getting scars was fun!

"See anybody?" he asked.

"Not a soul," she replied. "We must be the only living creatures within leagues of this place." She slid off of Stormfly and sat down next to her husband. "Watcha sketching now? More plants?"

"Actually, it's a picture of us," he showed her, somewhat hesitantly. "Or it will be, at any rate. I've only drawn most of you and some of the background so far.

Astrid was amazed by the quality of the drawing. "Did you draw this from memory?"

He looked embarrassed. "Not entirely…it's not done yet, anyway. I made your left arm too long and your lips are a bit too thick—and your nose, I mean, do you have any idea how hard and annoying noses are to draw? I've done so many portraits that were ruined because the stupid nose looked more like a claw than a—"

She kissed him on the cheek. "It's fine, Hiccup."

"People say that all the time, but I don't like to aim for anything less than perfection when I'm creating," he looked up at her and put a hand on her arm, "after all, when I chose who I wanted to spend the rest of my life with, I didn't aim for anyone but you." These words might have sounded silly and flowery, but he spoke with such earnestness that Astrid found them deeply touching.

Their eyes met.

" **Stormfly, Toothless, why don't you two go patrol the island for a while**?"

" **But weren't you two were just doing that**?" Toothless asked, looking confused.

Stormfly gestured with her head, " **I think they want to be alone** ,"

The Night Furies eyes bulged and he was running into the tropical forest as fast as he could, with Stormfly flying right behind him.

Now that they were alone, Hiccup pulled his wife to him and kissed her fiercely as they wrapped their arms around each other.

Toothless had been walking laps around the island for a while. Stormfly was doing the same thing, only in the air.

" **How long do you think we should keep doing this**?" Stormfly called down at one point.

" **I have no idea. We should probably wait until sunset, just to be safe**." So he wandered around again and again. Since this was supposed to be near the Isle of Night, he tried to use his Beta mind powers to sense the presence of any other dragons. He knew that Betas only really sensed the presence of dragons that belonged to their own nest, but he was hoping to sense the presence of the Alpha. He knew one of the last known Alphas had been a Night Fury, and he had been told that the Alpha had mind powers over every dragon on earth. So, when they had drawn near to this place, he had wondered if he would be able to sense the Alpha. It was just a fancy based on hope more than facts, and it was proving to be nothing more.

He froze. Now that he was focusing, he _did_ sense the presence of another dragon. It was some distance off but he could sense it, and he knew who it was.

" **Hookfang**?" he exclaimed. He at once sent out a summoning command, a command the Red Death had frequently used. Stormfly had felt it too and joined him.

" **What is it? Did something happen**?"

" **You're not going to believe this…** " he pointed to the sky and they waited. A few minutes later the Monstrous Nightmare soared into view.

" **Toothless, Stormfly** ," he said casually.

" **What in the name of the Alpha are** _ **you**_ **doing here**?" Stormfly exclaimed. " **Has something happened**?"

" **Not exactly** —"

" **Is Snotlout here too**?" Toothless asked.

" **Oh yeah, we're camping on the island over there. He wasn't on my back, so when you summoned me I left him behind. He's probably very confused and angry right now. Are your humans nearby**?"

" **Yeah** …"

" **Great! I'll go grab Snotlout and we'll join you**!"

Toothless grabbed him. " **Oh no you won't**!"

Astrid lay on her back and played with a fern. "I wonder how many children we're going to have," she said airily.

"A dozen?" Hiccup asked with equal lightness.

Astrid raised her eyebrows.

"I was kidding. But 3 or 4 doesn't sound too unmanageable,"

"Sons or daughters?"

"I don't really mind," he said, "but I'd prefer at least one of each,"

"Good. A lot of Vikings want only sons, but I'd rather have a daughter,"

Hiccup smiled at the thought and kissed her again.

"We're going to get dirty rolling around on the ground like this,"

"Then we'll go swimming later," Hiccup replied.

"Well it doesn't feel very romantic when my back is covered in dirt and there are little rocks digging into it!" Astrid laughed. "What should we name our kids?"

Hiccup snorted. "Just not 'Hiccup'! If I have my way, nobody is ever going to have that name again! And I am not having any child of mine grow up thinking they're a 'mistake'!"

"Well, if I had a son, I'd name him 'Olaf'," Astrid said seriously, "Or Finn,"

"Olaf Haddock. Finn Haddock." Hiccup smiled, "I like it,"

"And if you had a daughter, what would you name her? 'Valka'?"

He shook his head. "No. Mom might be disappointed, but…I've always thought 'Solveig' would be a lovely name. Of course, we're getting a bit ahead of ourselves, aren't we? I mean, you're not even pregnant!"

"Give it time," Astrid said happily, "Sooner or later it'll happen,"

Hiccup repositioned himself so that he was looking directly into her eyes. He looked very serious. "Just promise me something. Don't let me be like my own father was. If ever you feel that I'm not spending enough time with our kids or not supporting them enough, shout at me and hit me and do whatever it takes to get me to be a real father to them."

"I will," She said before she kissed him again. "Don't worry, Hiccup. Our children will think you're the best father in the world. Just like I think you're the best husband in the world."

"You do?"

"Do you think _I'd_ ever aim for anything less than perfection? I am Astrid Hofferson, remember."

Toothless carefully made his way towards their campsite. He could hear laughing and the rustling of leaves, but could not see anything.

" **Um, Hiccup**?" he called. The sound of movement stopped but he had to call a second time to get a response.

"What?" For once, Hiccup did not sound pleased to communicate with his dragon. He did not even use Dragonese.

" **We've got company** ,"

He heard movement again, but it sounded different. "Hunters?" he heard Astrid cry. "Where's my axe? Hiccup, get off my shirt—"

" **No, it's not hunters, it's…well, it's Hookfang and Snotlout** ,"

" **What**?" Hiccup exclaimed. Toothless could see him approaching now. His clothes and hair were much disheveled, but he was as alert as ever. " **What are they doing here? Where are they**?"

They looked up and saw Hookfang coming towards them, this time with a very confused and angry Snotlout on his back.

"Hookfang, you're supposed to be obeying me, and I say take us back!" they could hear him yelling, "Do you hear me? Back! Not this way! Not this—hey, it's Toothless and Hiccup! Hi guys! See, Hookfang, I _told_ you we should have looked over here first!"

" **Sure you did** ," the Nightmare muttered as he went in for a landing.

Snotlout hopped off his dragon with all the spring of a horse race champion. "Hiya cousin! And where's Astrid? Ah, there she is! Nice to finally catch up to you! You have no idea how—"

"What are you doing here, Snotlout?" Astrid demanded. Hiccup flinched at her harsh tone, which matched his own mood, but Snotlout seemed oblivious to her anger.

"I thought since you guys were going off on a little trip I'd come along!" he said happily.

"How'd you find us?" Hiccup asked sharply. The whole point of this was for their enemies to lose track of them. If someone like Snotlout managed to find them, who else might manage it?

Snotlout smiled at the question. "Relax, cousin. I know you really wanted to visit the Isle of Night, so when you disappeared, I figured you'd be heading here. I knew where to go because I saw the map when we were using the Dragon Eye."

" **We left a few days after you, but he got us lost a few times** ," Hookfang said, to explain why Snotlout had only just arrived even though he had taken a more direct route.

Hiccup stepped forward and grabbed Snotlout by the arm. "What were you _thinking_? Is this some little holiday to you? What if someone followed you? You may have just given away our location!"

"Oh come on, Hiccup, there's nothing to worry about! I didn't tell anybody I was coming here and I didn't see anybody following me!"

"Did you actually _look_?" Astrid retorted.

"Of course I looked! I'm not stupid, you know!"

" **I'm considering debating that** ," Hiccup muttered in Dragonese.

" **What shall we do with him**?" Astrid asked.

" **Well we can't let him leave or he might give away where we are**!" Hiccup growled, " **Now that he's here, I guess we'll have to let him stay with us** ,"

"Hey, would you guys talk in Norse? You know I can't understand Dragonese!" Snotlout snapped.

Hiccup gestured behind his shoulder. "The campsite's back that way. Bring your stuff."

" **I am** _ **so**_ **glad he didn't find us a little while ago** ," Astrid scowled, " **And Hiccup, we are** _ **not**_ **doing that again as long as he's around**."

Hiccup quite agreed with her.

Nobody was very happy that evening. Hiccup and Astrid were both very displeased and annoyed by what Snotlout had done and made small effort to disguise it, and what displeased them also displeased their dragons, which made Hookfang eager to be anywhere else. Snotlout in turn quickly grew annoyed at the resentful feelings towards him. There was little talking that night, and everyone was short and sharp when they said something.


	27. Chapter 27

**I Own Nothing**

 **All Rights Reserved**

 **Chapter 27**

 **Exploring the Isle of Night**

The following morning they departed for the Isle of Night. The island that they flew to was very different from the one they had left. In place of lush green forests and jungles was a desert with occasional shrubs and a few palm trees. About the only thing the two islands had in common were the cone shaped mountains near the center. With no better idea of where to start searching, they made for the mountain and landed about half way up.

Hiccup took their bearings. "Well, let's split up and see what we can find. Toothless will summon Hookfang and Stormfly at midday."

"What exactly are we looking for?" Snotlout asked skeptically.

"Mainly signs of dragons,"

He and Toothless made their way south on foot, climbing over rocks and avoiding the sandier sections.

Hiccup looked around again, taking in the landscape. " **So this is where Night Furies are supposed to have first lived, huh? I'm finding that a bit hard to believe. I could imagine Boulder Class Dragons living here, but not Night Furies**."

" **Maybe something caused it to change and they abandoned it**." Toothless suggested.

" **Maybe** ,"

They wandered around directionless for a while. It was a nice day, and they did not mind spending it tromping around on a mountain. If nothing else, the view was amazing, for they could see more of the scenic island chain, but as for finding evidence of dragons, they may have had better luck searching the surface of the moon.

After a while more, Hiccup sat on a rock. " **Well, Bud, it's been a nice trip, all things considered, but if this even** _ **is**_ **the Isle of Night, I don't think we're going to find anything related to Night Furies** ,"

" **Did you really expect to**?" Toothless asked as he rolled around a large rock.

" **I thought we might find** _ **something**_!" Hiccup said in frustration, " **Well, maybe the others found a clue of some kind. Go ahead and summon them; it's been long enough** ,"

But they had not found anything. Snotlout was especially in a foul mood about it. "Why did I bother coming here?" he had mumbled to himself many times while wandering around. "This is a big fat waste of my time," He and Hookfang were the first to rejoin Hiccup and Toothless, and when Astrid arrived with Stormfly and went to Hiccup's side, he felt more and more like the odd man out.

So they had something to eat and then split up once again. Hiccup assured them if they found nothing worth investigating by dusk they would head for Berk tomorrow, which was a little consolation. And sensing that Snotlout was in a very foul mood, Hiccup suggested the two of them be partners for this search, hoping that a little bonding time between cousins would improve things.

It did not. They went over rocks and more rocks, and if it was not rocky it was sandy. Everything was a dull brown shade. The day had grown hot and they grew sweaty. Snotlout had seldom felt so miserable. He wanted to go home. Hiccup kept his own spirits up. Now that he had made up his mind they would not probably find anything, he decided to enjoy the hiking for its own sake.

After wandering around yet again for what felt like hours, they came upon a steep ravine which prevented them from going any further.

"Looks like we'll have to turn back," Hiccup said, "Or perhaps if we went uphill a little..."

"This is such a waste of time," Snotlout grumbled, "and just when I thought I was going to be involved in something important for once,"

"For once?" Hiccup repeated as he climbed over a boulder, "You were only one of the first Dragon Riders in the Archipelago, among plenty of other things. And you're one of the first Europeans to ever explore these islands! That's something, isn't it?"

"Yes I was…after you did that stuff first."

Hiccup scratched his ear. "What was that?"

"After you did that stuff first—like always," Snotlout said loudly and irritably.

Hiccup stopped and turned to face his cousin. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Are you really so stupid that you have to ask?" Snotlout snapped.

"Perhaps I want to hear it from your own mouth and see if my theory is correct,"

"Oh yes, Hiccup's always correct!" Snotlout exploded, "Everything he ever does is correct! He can't possibly fail! He kills the Red Death, he finds ways to make people fly, he builds swords out of fire, he speaks Thor knows how many languages, he always knows what to say in any situation, he even built a metal leg for himself!"

"Metal leg? _That's_ what this is about? If you wanted a fake leg why didn't you just say so?"

"And there he goes again with his trademark sarcasm! Always a plan and a humorous quip for every occasion, with his faithful toady Snotlout to back him up when he needs some extra muscle!"

"I'm getting the impression these are Viggo's words." Hiccup said seriously.

"Why? Because I'm too stupid to think them up myself? Because I can't do anything without help?" Snotlout shouted, "Do you have _any_ idea what it's like, living in your shadow all the time, always being expected to help but never told anything or given anything important to do?"

"You know perfectly well I know what that's like. For 15 years you made my life a perfect Hel! You're bullying and my father's negligence almost drove me to suicide, remember that?" Hiccup snapped. He had tried to be gentle, but Snotlout had touched a nerve.

"Oh, you think you had it tough, because every teenager has it hard! Well you went from the bottom to the top! How do you think it feels to go from the top to the bottom? I was the best Viking out of all of us! I had everything except Astrid! And then you reappeared and next thing I know I'm nothing more than your lackey! I fought in the last war more than you did, but who remembers any of it except me? No, it's all about Hiccup blowing the ship up, Hiccup fighting a climatic duel with Drago, and Snotlout only lost his Dad, well, big deal! And then you get your father back, you get your mother, you get a girl to love you, you get the Chiefdom, and what do I get?" he screamed. "You ever considered that? Have you ever _once_ considered that?"

Hiccup's gaze softened. He sensed this was what was really bothering his cousin. "I can't bring your parents back, Snotlout, you know that,"

"But it's all because of you my Dad died. It's all because of you that the last words we ever exchanged were an argument!"

"Do you think I don't feel responsible?" Hiccup exclaimed, his temper flaring up again, "Do you think I wanted it that way? Do you think you're the only one who's ever lost anybody?"

"And how would _you_ know what it's like? You've got all of your family now! What have I got, just tell me that?"

"You've got Hookfang! You've got the Dragon Riders!"

"And what does that get me?" Snotlout yelled, "we're here in the middle of nowhere once again all because you want do what you like and don't care about what anyone else wants?"

"Now just a minute—you know perfectly well why I left Berk, you know why I wanted to come here, and I don't recall ever asking you to come with me!"

"Of course not! Since when have you ever asked me to go anywhere? I'm your only cousin and you show more confidence in Fishlegs!"

"I'm _your_ only cousin, but that didn't stop you from beating me up all the time!" Hiccup snapped. "Family ties didn't matter so much when we were teenagers did they?"

"Well we're old enough now, aren't we?" Snotlout snapped impatiently.

"Clearly not, if you're going to act like this,"

"Oh, _I'm_ the one who acting wrong here?" Snotlout shouted, "Of course I am! The way people talk, you couldn't do anything wrong if you tried to! WELL THEN TRY DOING THIS WRONG!" He charged into Hiccup and pushed him with all his might towards the ravine. Hiccup slipped and went over the edge. Snotlout watched him disappear and laughed horribly. "I'VE HAD IT WITH YOU! GET OUT OF THAT ONE, USELESS!"

He paused and looked over the edge. There was no sign of Hiccup anywhere. It was clear where he had slid down the slope, but Snotlout could see no body. "Hiccup? All right, where are you?" Snotlout looked around again. "Come on, stop playing games! Playing dead isn't funny!" He looked around more and more, but saw nothing, nor did he hear any cries of pain or for help. Everywhere was silence and stillness

He staggered away from the edge, now registering the implications of it all. Had he just killed Hiccup? Had he just killed his own cousin, his future Chief, his…friend? Dear Gods, what had he just done? What would Stoick say when he got back? What would he do? He had just pushed his own cousin off a cliff, and for what? A few petty jealousies? A few childhood issues they had never resolved simply because they had never talked about them? A few problems they could have fixed if they had talked it over and a few more that nobody could fix? Dear Gods, what had he just done? Dear Gods, _what had he done_?

"C'mon, Hiccup, where are you?" Snotlout asked timidly. Nothing responded.

He suddenly turned away and ran for it.

Astrid and Stormfly were taking a break on the northern end of the island. Stormfly was gazing out around the horizon. All of a sudden she let out a squawk.

"What is it, girl?"

" **A ship! Down on the beach** ,"

Astrid groaned and pulled out her spyglass, " **So Snotlout did give away our location. That puffed up muttonhead; I'll give him another black eye for this. Hmm. Just one ship. Of course there might be more. That's a hunter ship alright**." She smiled. " **Well, if they've come for Hiccup, let's disappoint them. C'mon, girl. Let's lure them to another island**!"

Stormfly would have grinned if she could.

Further south, Toothless spotted the Nadder in the air. Moments later Hookfang spotted the ship.

" **Say Toothy, how about we rush in there and burn that ship up? C'mon, what d'ya say? Let's have some fun**!"

" **You sound like Evictus** ," Toothless smiled. " **But no. I'm going to find Hiccup. See if you can distract them a little. But don't get caught**!" he shouted after the Nightmare, who was already flying off excitedly. Toothless was about to run off himself when he paused and looked upwards. " **I can sense another dragon from my nest—wait a minute! What on earth is Windshear doing here**?"

The group of hunters moved off the beach cautiously.

"C'mon, ya lot of slugs!" Hognose shouted, "Git movin'!"

"I think he's said that every day since we left France," one hunter mumbled to another.

"They always think shoutin' loud nuff will make anythin' happen," his friend grumpily agreed.

"Shut up and git movin'!" Hognose roared. He was acting like a slave driver, but he felt he had every reason to. "If we come back empty 'anded Viggo'll kill us all!"

"And how do we _not_ return empty handed if there's nothing here to capture?" a hunter shouted impatiently. At that instant Stormfly swooped over them.

"Hello boys!" Astrid called in the most careless and annoying sing-song voice she could muster, "Come to catch some dragons? Or have you come to catch some snails? Yes, I imagine catching snails is much more in line with men of _your_ abilities!"

" **Catching snails**?" Stormfly repeated.

" **Hey, taunting is Hiccup's area of expertise, not mine**!" Nevertheless, she had to keep at it. An angry opponent was a careless one and that was just what she wanted. "C'mon boys, what's the matter? Are you so used to catching mice you can't catch anything faster?"

"Bring her down and capture her!" Hognose shouted. Stormfly flew over them again.

"I'd like to see you try! You couldn't hit a castle wall!" she laughed, "Watch as I fly circles around you bunch of sissies!" And she did just that, but on the second circle she had Stormfly abruptly turn around, to disrupt anyone timing a net launch.

The hunters were really getting angry by now, and she laughed again, sounding like a cackling witch. She led them one direction and then another. Now and then someone fired an arrow in such frustration that it was easily dodged.

"You call that archery? If you lot were an execution squad, you'd hit each other before you hit the prisoner!" she laughed, "calm down, Astrid, don't get cocky," she reminded herself. They were making angry mistakes, yes, but one lucky shot would be enough to ground Stormfly.

And that was just what Hognose had in mind. He ordered every hunter to load their crossbows. Then they waited until the Nadder swooped over them again and opened fired. The hail of arrows compelled Stormfly to veer away quickly and they followed her.

Toothless followed Hiccup's scent up and down the mountain. He really detested walking on this ground. It was so loose and sandy at times that he felt he was going to start a landslide.

And then the ground became rocky and the trail reached the edge of a ravine. Toothless's first thought was that Hiccup had opened his flight suit and jumped off the edge. After all, the dragon had no reason to suspect any kind of foul play. But then he examined the ground more carefully and realized to his horror that Hiccup must have fallen off the edge. At once the Night Fury leapt into the air. Gliding as well as he could, he frantically scanned the ravine. He wanted to scream for Hiccup, but feared the noise might draw attention. He spotted evidence of a small landslide and tilted his wings, almost slamming into the hill in the process. He abandoned flying for now and carefully slid downwards.

Hiccup was lying unconscious and face down at the bottom of the ravine. There were streaks of blood on his head.

" **Hiccup**!" Toothless cried, rushing over to him. " **C'mon, Hiccup, get up, get up, you can't be dead, you can't—** " the Night Fury took a deep breath. " **Calm down, calm down, you can't afford to panic now. We're sitting ducks here. A hunter could finish him by rolling a few rocks down the hill**." He looked around quickly and saw a cave at the far end of the ravine. So he retracted his teeth, picked up Hiccup by the torso as if he was going to eat him, and made his way towards it.

Over at the Hunter's ship, Hookfang charged forward, his body blazing. " **Let's see your ship sail now**!" he roared and spat a mouthful of hot fire. There had only been one man on board the ship and he had leapt overboard when Hookfang first appeared. Hookfang fired again and a third time. Nothing happened.

Hookfang paused. " **That thing should've been reduced to cinders. Oh right, they built those hulls to be dragonproof. Well, they can't make a dragonproof sail**!" he readied himself and fired again. But the sail did not burn either. Instead it just deflected the flames. " **What**?" He spread his wings and flew to the mast. His mouth opened, his heart nearly stopped, and smoke rose from his nostrils. The sails were not made of linen but dragon skin. " **Why those—those—!"**

He was so angry he did not see the hunter on the beach behind him until the man fired an arrow coated in Dragon Root into his back.

The hunters were getting very frustrated now. Stormfly had flown to the shore of the closest nearby island. She was plainly visible to all of them and completely out of range. And in order to reach her they would need to go back to their ship and set sail, and by the time they got close enough the Nadder would probably have landed somewhere else. That was what Astrid hoped, and by the looks of it the Hunters were aware of this, because she saw them turn away and resume searching for Hiccup.

"Shoot," she muttered, "I thought they'd be so angry they'd come after us without thinking. I guess they're smarter than we gave them credit for, huh girl? Well, obviously we need to make them angrier!"

The hunters had but a few seconds of warning before Astrid dropped right in the middle of them.

"All right, everybody surrender and no one gets hurt!" she yelled. The hunters responded by yelling and readying their weapons. "Why do men always want to do things the hard way?" She kicked two in the shins, hit a third in the face, and punched a fourth in the stomach. Stormfly meantime flung spines at the hunter's feet. Then Astrid leapt onto her dragon's back and they took off. Hognose lunged for the Nadder and grabbed her foot, but he was easily kicked off and went flying and screaming into a large pile of sand.

"Can't say I didn't warn you!" She laughed as they flew to the nearest island again. "So, are they going to come after us this time?" She looked up at the sky to judge the time. She would not risk rejoining Hiccup until nightfall. Goodness knows what Snotlout was doing.

A flash of silver caught her eye and she spun around. "Windshear!" she exclaimed in delight. "Heather! What are you two doing here? Tell me later, this is great! What do you say we give those hunters a—Heather, what is it?"

Heather grimly pointed her axe at Astrid's throat.

"Heather?"

"I think you'd better surrender," she said coldly.

When Hiccup woke up he was aching all over. At first he thought it was night.

"Where am I?"

" **Oh thank goodness**!" Toothless almost leapt onto him but caught himself, and instead began licking him. " **I thought I'd lost you! Are you alright? Where does it hurt**?"

"Take your pick," Hiccup groaned as he tried to sit up, "I'm happy to see you too, by the way,"

" **Well of course you are. But enough of that. There are hunters on the island**."

"What?"

" **Yes. Hookfang and Stormfly are taking care of them…I think. I don't know exactly; I went to find you. And there you were at the bottom of a hill. What happened**?"

Hiccup's fist tightened and his face contorted. " **Snotlout pushed me**."

" **Snotlout—by accident**?"

" **Intentionally** ,"

" **Why that** —" Toothless was so angry he could not speak.

Hiccup tried to stand up. " **Where's Astrid**?"

" **With Stormfly** ,"

Hiccup was aghast. " **She's dealing with the hunters? C'mon, Bud** ," he tried to mount the Night Fury, only to clench his head and nearly fall over.

" **We're not going anywhere** ," Toothless growled, " **You're in no shape, and they're distracting those men to keep them away from you. You'll just get us caught and their efforts will have been for nothing. No, we're staying here until nightfall. Then I'll summon the others and we'll be going, but not before.** " The Night Fury started licking the injuries on his head.

The hunters on the beach cheered when they saw Astrid and Heather leap off their dragons and start dueling. At the same time their dragons were roaring at each other and fighting a ferocious battle of their own. Hognose grinned at the sight. "Git 'em, ma lovely 'Eather! Astrid'll be stumped her old friend's a foe now!"

"What are they saying?" Someone asked, "I can see their mouths moving but I can't hear anything over the dragons screamin'!"

"Probably just makin' threats and curses," another said dismissively, "Astrid's probably calling Heather a traitor,"

"Technically, she is," one hunter said fairly, but the others told him to shut up.

"Beat her to a pulp, Heather!"

"Don't put too many holes in the Nadder, ya stew-pid Razor! Nadder skin'll fetch a good price!"

If ever fire had met ice, it was here. Astrid's eyes were full of rage and she was attacking with the fury of an erupting volcano, while Heather was taking the blows as coldly as a mountain withstands a blizzard. Their dragons were less poetic in their fighting. Both Windshear and Stormfly glared and snarled at each other, and they wrestled together like tigers.

It was clear to the hunters that both sides were evenly matched, and there was some worry that Heather might not be able to win. Nobody dared shoot an arrow or throw a spear in case they hit the wrong target. So they cheered with joy and relief when Heather slammed her axe against Astrid's with a powerful blow and sent it flying. Astrid lunged for it but Windshear broke away from Stormfly and leapt in front of her, hissing and wavering her tail threateningly. Astrid turned around but Heather was right behind her, the doubled sided axe mere inches from slicing her in half. The hunters saw Astrid slowly put her hands up and they cheered even louder. But Stormfly seized the chance and flew away.

Back in the cave, to pass the time while they waited for nightfall, Hiccup looked around, testing his sore limbs in the process. It was a mercy nothing had been broken, but even so he was bruised all over and had to walk extremely gingerly.

" **This cave's a bit bigger than we thought** ," he remarked.

" **They always are** ," Toothless muttered.

" **Hey, Toothless, take a look at this. Claw marks. And fresh ones too."**

" **Do you hear something?"**

Hiccup froze and listened. " **It sounds like breathing** ," he whispered, " **it's coming from over** —"

He took a few more steps and found himself looking into at a large pair of blue green eyes. In the darkness he could very faintly see the outline of a dragon.

He was looking at a Night Fury and it was not Toothless.

As soon as it realized it was looking at a human, the Night Fury cried out and ran away. Toothless and Hiccup, forgetting his injuries though hampered by them, followed.

The hunter's throats were getting sore from all the cheering. They saw Heather bind Astrid's arms, put her on Windshear, and fly over towards them. When they dismounted Hognose at once rushed for Astrid and grabbed her arm.

"Ah, Astrid, Ya don't know 'ow long I've wanted ta touch—"

But Heather grabbed him and threw him to the ground. "Stop it!"

"Wot?" Hognose snarled, "She's a pris-ner ain't she? We can do wot we like wid 'er!"

"She's _my_ prisoner, Hognose, and I am not going to let you or anyone else rape her, do you understand me?" Heather snapped, "And I doubt Viggo would be happy to hear that his most valuable hostage to date has been violated in any way."

"Why should he care?" a hunter demanded, "Berk would pay for a ransom for _her_ no matter how pure she stays!"

"Oh for crying out loud—if you pigs are that desperate for sex, I'm sure we'll pass a hundred brothels on our way back to Grimmige Festung! But anyone who touches Astrid gets a metal spike through the heart!" Windshear raised her tail to emphasis the threat. " _Understood_?"

"I'm glad to see you have some decency left, even after you've betrayed us!" Astrid spat.

Heather glowered at her, "I told you, you wouldn't understand. Now let's get back to the ship and get going!"

"But wot 'bout Useless?" Hognose asked.

"Don't call him that!" Astrid snapped. "Even when we were kids he was twice as useful as _you_ ever were!"

Hognose wanted to thrash her but Windshear was standing protectively nearby.

Another hunter quickly spoke up to prevent any fight, "Hognose is right. Viggo sent us here to find the Dragon King. If we don't come back with him we're all dead." There were nervous nods from the others.

Heather shook her head. "Viggo sent us to follow Snotlout and see where he would lead us. He didn't send us to find Hiccup, and for all we know, Hiccup could be leagues from here by now. For all we know he wasn't even here to begin with!"

Hognose shook his head. "We'd better search this place jest ta be sure,"

"Go ahead!" Astrid laughed. Those two words made everyone pause. If those words implied that Hiccup was not here, the Hunters could search for days and find nothing. If those words implied that Hiccup was there and she was bluffing, they might find him but who was to say they would successfully capture him? And there was the issue about Astrid. They had a prisoner to watch now, and they were as good as dead if she escaped. That meant they needed as many men as possible to guard her, but every man guarding her meant one less man to help capture Hiccup if they found him. And if they did not leave enough men she might get away. This was in essence a debate between quitting while they were ahead or taking one more chance and praying they hit a gold mine.

Heather suddenly laughed. "It doesn't matter about where Hiccup is! Don't you oafs get it? We've got his wife for a hostage now. We don't need to go after Hiccup; he's gonna have to come to us! And if we take Astrid back to Grimmage Festung, Viggo will have the same idea!"

The hunters cheered again. They were off the hook. And even better news awaited them at the ship, when they saw their lone sentry trying to load an unconscious Monstrous Nightmare on board.

"Oh Gods, Hookfang," Astrid whispered mournfully, "what happened?"

"Have to admit, I didn't see this one coming either," Heather said in surprise. She looked around. "So where's Snotlout then?"

Snotlout was nowhere nearby and had no idea of anything that had happened. He had run down the mountain with no idea of where he was going; he had just wanted to get away from everything, and every few steps he nearly fell, so disoriented and in shock was he. He kept seeing in his mind the look on Hiccup's face. It had been a horrified mixture of confusion and betrayal. Snotlout could not bear it but he kept thinking about it. He tripped over some rocks and fell on his face, and then burst into tears.


	28. Chapter 28

**I Own Nothing**

 **All Rights Reserved**

 **Brace yourselves…**

 **Chapter 28**

 **What Bludvist Never Did**

It was a wintery day on Berk, as was typical this time of year. The snowfall had been heavy and the ice was starting to seal off the harbor. In the past this meant complete isolation for the rest of the season, and that was both a boon and a danger. With dragons around, however, the ice could be broken through and melted, and that was what Stoick ordered them to do. From his house he could hear the sound of fire being breathed about the harbor.

"Still no word from Hiccup and Astrid?" Valka asked.

"Nothing," Stoick said, "And we haven't found Snotlout either. I just don't get it! What in the name of Thor could he be doing?"

Valka had plenty of suggestions, but there was no point in voicing them.

"I sent out Fishlegs and the Twins to take another look earlier today," he went on, "It's just possible he's on his way back and they'll stumble across him. It worked with them during that Dragon Eye trip." He stood up when the door was burst opened by his Rumblehorn, who had been making his rounds that morning. "Ah Skullcrusher, what news? Has the weather changed any?"

" **It's very windy, but that's not why I'm here. A large fleet of ships are approaching**!" the Rumblehorn said to Valka, who passed the message onto Stoick.

"A fleet? Whose? How large?"

" **Their sails have the Bog Burglar crest on them** ,"

Stoick breathed a sigh of relief. "Well, then let's head down to meet Bertha and see what this is all about. And we'll spread the word for everyone to lock up their valuables!"

They made their way to the docks, where a large crowd had gathered. The waves were getting rough and the ships showed signs of wear and stress. Spectators on the docks watched tensely and helplessly, praying that such ships would be able to dock safely. They cheered when the first one did so successfully. When a gangplank was thrown down Stoick approached, saying "So, what's the reason for this unex—"

A Speed Stinger leapt over the railing and slashed its tail at him. A split second later an entire pack charged down the gangplank and onto the docks, slashing their tails against every living thing in sight.

Pandemonium ensued. The Villagers ran for land, but the Speed Stingers were too quick. Every person their tails hit froze like a statue. Human and dragons alike were paralyzed as the pack made its way to shore and to the village. Stoick was the one exception to being paralyzed, and he roared furiously, grabbed his hammer, and charged after them. Several Stingers turned around at the noise and went in for another attack. He swung his hammer like Thor and fended most of them off, but one skirted around him and slashed his leg. He retorted by clubbing it in the chest. But doing so had given the other Stingers time to surround him, and they charged as one. Stoick was soon just as paralyzed as the rest.

And the attack did not stop with Stoick. The Stingers shot their way up to the Plaza and split up. Most villagers and dragons in the area had been going on with their daily lives. The attack came so fast that few had even the faintest idea there was an attack. All through the village the Stingers raced, breaking into homes and freezing everyone they came across, from humans to dragons to livestock, sleeping or awake.

But the Speed Stingers did not do this out of evil or because they delighted in it. They had been starving through the voyage and wanted Berk's food, and they were taking out anything that they perceived was in their way. Most burst into a house, froze the occupants to ensure it was safe, and then broke into the larders and gorged themselves.

But Speed Stingers were skittish creatures, and they were paranoid about the safety of them and their Queen. Anything that moved was seen as a potential threat, and their first instinct was to neutralize the threat before it became anything worse. So even anybody fleeing was stung and frozen, regardless of how formidable they were.

Evictus and his team had been in the woods that morning, cutting some trees for firewood. They were hauling the logs back when they heard screaming coming from the village. The dragons at once dropped their loads and leapt into the air, expecting a fight. Evictus landed on top of one house and looked down to survey the situation. He could not believe what he saw. Instead of a battle a multitude of statues were randomly placed around the village and Speed Stingers were rushing around them and breaking into food stores. Luckily for Evictus, he was beyond the reach of the flightless dragons, but some others of his team were not so lucky. They had dived or flown close to the ground, expecting to attack an army, and instead they were met by flailing Speed Stinger tails.

Evictus looked around wildly. A small handful of dragons had gotten to safety, including Cloudjumper, but aside from them, everyone on Berk was paralyzed. The whole attack could not have lasted more than 10 minutes.

" **But this makes no sense**!" Evictus shouted, " **How could Speed Stingers have gotten here**?"

" **Never mind that! What do we do now**?" another dragon yelled back.

The Timberjack quickly made up his mind. " **We wait. They'll probably leave once they're done eating, and the venom will wear off eventually. Aside from repairs and food shortages, this attack really hasn't harmed anything**."

" **If I were you I would rethink that** ," Cloudjumper said ominously, " **Look towards the docks**."

A large group of men were now disembarking from the ships. They wore armor pads and had spiked helmets, and around their legs and arms were strands of Dragon Nip, to protect them from the Speed Stingers.

"Now get these statues bound and onto the ships before the venom wears off." Ryker Grimborn ordered.

Night had fallen. Fishlegs and Meatlug had been out all day searching for that moron Snotlout, and had found nothing. Fishlegs was worried about his friend, but was also very annoyed that Snotlout had run off without a single hint of where he was going or what he was doing and was equally annoyed that he had spent a day pointlessly flying through the cold looking for him.

"Honestly, why didn't he tell me or the Twins?" he shouted, "We're supposed to be his friends and a team! And if he didn't go by choice, what happened to him?"

He was jolted from his annoyance when he realized something was out of place with Berk. The only lights lit were in the harbor. None of the beacons on the nearby rocks were lit, nor were there any fires in the Plaza or in any homes. That was very strange, especially at this time of year. " **Meatlug, make for the docks**."

As they drew closer they saw a lot more ships in the harbor than there had been that morning. And they could now hear screams and roars coming from the ships.

The hunters had first bound every paralyzed human and dragon, so if the Stinger venom wore off they would still be mostly immobile. It was a smart decision for the hunters, because it was taking a great deal of time to carry everyone to the docks and securely place them in the ship cargo holds. The Speed Stingers had all been recaptured as well, thanks to the Dragon Nip.

Viggo was watching the progress with a chillingly calm expression on his face, though now and then he permitted himself to look smug and even happy. "I have every right to be," he told himself, "I just accomplished what Bludvist never did, and it was absurdly easy. I almost question if it was worth the effort." But he knew it was. There would be good profits soon, and he had dealt a ferociously sharp blow to Hiccup.

Ryker came over, as usual asking for instructions.

"It'll take days to get all this loaded," he complained, "especially when you want everything and everyone accounted for,"

"We must be certain our records are accurate, or else someone might try and cheat us," Viggo said patronizingly, "so when I want complete lists of names, descriptions, species, what ship they are on, where that ship is making for, when it leaves and arrives, and how much the products sell for, and all expenses, I expect to receive exactly what I ask for. Now, detach some men to plunder the island. The usual procedures."

Ryker grinned. Plunder was more fun than loading ships. "Anything else?"

"Yes, I want a full inventory of what our men find. And we will remind them what happens to those who try to cheat me. And I want the prisoners I have listed here to be placed on my personal ship. These prisoners will come with us to Grimmige Festung, and are not to be sold until the Dragon King is indisputably dead."

"Hostages?"

"Exactly." He handed Ryker a slip of parchment. "See to it.

Ryker glanced at the list. "Why isn't that crippled blacksmith included? I heard he was one of the Dragon King's closest friends. Wouldn't it be better to hold him hostage?"

"Some close friends and family members will be kept hostage, others will be sent elsewhere." Viggo retorted. This would greatly complicate Hiccup's chances of saving the ones he cared for most, and that would make things even more painful for him. "Now, Dagur can watch the plundering group. He has the nose for that kind of work. And have Eret join us on my ship when it is loaded. Oh, and one more thing. Make sure family members are separated and placed on different ships as much as possible."

And thus Berk was plundered. Homes were ransacked, doors were broken down, windows were smashed, food and drink taken, beds were broken, and tables and chairs were chopped up. Anything of value was seized, and anything not of value was destroyed by the hunters, who were no longer hunters but a mob drunk with greed and violence. They destroyed for the pleasure of destroying, and were determined to enjoy this brief time of complete freedom to do as they pleased without fear of punishment. Nothing was burned at this time, for burning the village before it was completely stripped was not profitable, but every building was vandalized in some way.

Eret glanced at the plundering when he could, while he was assisting with loading the paralyzed prisoners. He was disgusted and horrified by what he saw. He was a hunter, not a heartless pirate! This was not what hunting was supposed to be about! Hunting was not about robbing villages and locking up children like that much cargo! He was used to hearing dragons cry out in pain and misery, but hearing kids screaming for their mothers or a parent crying for their child or spouse or a friend, it made his blood run cold. And he was here helping it. And there was nothing he could do about it. Viggo would kill him or have him join the prisoners if he made any protest, and there was no way to escape. He truly wished now he had taken the Dragon King's advice and left behind Dragon Hunting when he had had the chance.

After some time had passed, Viggo went to see the prisoners in the cargo hold of his flagship.

"I want my mamma!" a child screamed.

"Where's the Chief?" a man demanded.

"Where's my wife?"

"What have you done to us?"

Viggo held up a hand. He looked like a benevolent patriarch about to gently admonish some children for a wrongdoing. "What have _I_ done to you? Oh my dear sir, you are so badly mistaken. I understand you are upset, but if you wish to blame someone, I'm afraid you must blame Hiccup for this, not me. I am simply a man of business. Hiccup has repeatedly threatened my business over and over again. Who among you would not fight back if your livelihood was in danger? Because Hiccup has been so relentless and refuses to listen to reason, he has forced me to take extreme measures out of desperation. In fact, his actions would have broken a less resourceful man! If Berk had remained a place of safety for me and my enterprises, we would be unfailing friends to this very day. But Hiccup showed up, forced you to adopt a new lifestyle inconsistent with Viking beliefs, and has interfered so many times with my plans I have no choices left.

"Consider, my fellow sufferers: whose fault was it for the war with Drago last year? Who is the man who claims to want peace, picks fights all the time, and yet denies you all the possibility of going to Valhalla? Who went against 300 years of Viking tradition and commerce just to satisfy his personal ends? He talks of peace and ends up in fights. We all know, do we not, that peace is a foolish dream. The Gods frown upon those who die peacefully, do they not? Only true warriors who fall in battle go to Valhalla, and Hiccup would deny this for you! Does he actually care about us, about our trade, our lives, our safety, or is he more interested in dragons? If Hiccup cares so much about Berk, why did he push me so far that I was forced to take extreme measures against Berk to save my business and all I have? He has denied you all the chance of sharing my profits and increasing your trade. How is that the actions of a responsible leader?"

He turned away and went back to his quarters. "Something for them to think about during the long voyage," he said smugly. "Of course, I do not intend for them to see dear little Hiccup again."

There was pounding on the door. "If that's not Ryker, go away," he said loudly.

The door opened. "It's me, brother, and I brought you some company," Ryker entered, carrying the paralyzed form of Stoick the Vast. Behind him came Eret and Mildew.

"Wot's this 'ere about?" Mildew demanded crossly.

"You shall see in good time." Viggo said calmly, "How soon before he wakes up?"

"It won't take long," Ryker assured him.

"I'd be surprise if it did," Eret mumbled, "We've had to resting him half a dozen times every hour to keep him this way."

"A powerful man," Viggo said, sitting down.

"'E _was_ ," Mildew spat, "then the useless son made him a weakling."

Greta Hofferson suddenly snapped out of her paralyzed condition, to discover she was in a ship's hold and chained to the wall. "What the—"

She looked next to her and saw Gustav Larsen. "Gustav, wake up, wake up!"

"Where am I? Where's Mom? Where's Fanghook?" he exclaimed, sitting bolt upright.

"I don't know," Greta looked around. Other people in the hold were waking up too, most with the same reaction as Gustav. And when they realized what had happened to them, very few kept quiet. They roared with rage, demanding who had done this to them, where were their loved ones, where was their Chief, and struggling in vain to break out of their bonds, calling upon their unknown foes to come out and fight. They could hear the sounds of dragons roaring on the other side of a wall. Evidently the ship had two cargo holds and each one was being used for a different species.

And when nobody came to answer their cries, and it became clear they were not getting out of their bonds that easily, the prisoners began to look around uneasily.

"What's gonna happen to us?" a child asked nervously.

"It's going to be all right, son," replied the man next to him. They were not related, and everyone who heard him knew the words were hollow.

"Hey!" Gustav said loudly, "C'mon, we're Vikings! We'll find a way out of here—somehow," There were a few determined nods, but others looked scared.

At least Astrid isn't here, Greta thought. She looked upwards and whispered "Odin, watch over them. And watch over us. We're going to need it."

Still, she was very glad her daughter was not there. That was her only comfort.

The few dragons who had escaped the Speed Stinger attack were in the woods. They could hear what was going on and were debating furiously what to do about it.

" **I say we attack right now**!" a Whispering Death urged, " **Fly in and turn those ships into cinders**!"

" **We'd burn everyone alive**!" Evictus yelled, " **We're trying to help them, not help the hunters with killing them**!"

" **The hunters won't kill them** ," a Changewing said, " **Didn't you hear what they were saying? They're going to make slaves out of them, just like the Red Death did with us! Out of the humans, I mean. The dragons will probably all be…you know,"** she drew a line through her throat.

Strangely, Evictus felt a twinge of hope at this bad news. " **But hunters usually don't kill dragons until the very last minute! If the hunters aren't going to kill anyone yet, there's still some time—** "

" **Time to do what**?" another demanded.

" **What would the Hatchling do**?" the Changewing asked, " **Think, everyone, what would he do**?"

" **He'd fly in there, sneak on board a ship, and rescue everyone! We've done it a thousand times! C'mon, let's get moving**!" A Nadder argued.

" **All right, first of all, we've never done a rescue on such a scale before, secondly, there are only 8 of us, and thirdly, they've probably wised to his tactics by now. We'd only get caught and join them**." Evictus said.

" **Where's the Hatchling when you need him**?" the Changewing muttered.

" **We're just going to have to find him then**!" Another declared.

" **And then what**?" demanded yet another, " **Evictus pointed out there are only 8 of us. Assuming Toothless and Stormfly joined up, we'd have 10. I don't know about you guys, but I don't have any hope in odds like those**."

" **Then we'll get help** ," Evictus retorted, " **There are other dragons around here aren't there? The Bog Burglars, the Owl Guts—Denmark! The list goes on! And Shamrock's currently at a Treejumper colony! And Cloudjumper—you could get your nest to help**!"

Cloudjumper had been listening with skepticism this entire time, and now he shook his head with a condescending look. " **I do not believe my Beta would concern himself about a tribe of Vikings** —"

" **Hang on a minute**!" exclaimed the Whispering Death, " **It's our nest too**!"

" **And your human is down there**!" shouted the Changewing, " **Are you gonna leave her to her fate**?"

Cloudjumper scowled. " **Certainly not**. **I will get Valka out of there and take her home. This is clear proof to me that we should never have gotten involved in any of** —"

" **Oh for the love of all that's living, are you really this selfish**?" roared Evictus.

" **My duty is to look after my nest, not** —"

" **Oh look around for once, you stuck up idiot**!" shouted the Timberjack, " **This isn't the time to sit around like a woodpecker on a tree! You think looking at something pretty and shutting your ears will make every problem go away? Well it won't, and sooner or later Viggo will come for your nest and you'll fly around begging for help, but guess what—you won't get any help because everyone who might have helped you, you left to die! Go on back to your 'Everlasting Ice' if you think it's so important! We don't have any desire for cowards in our flock anyway**!" he turned away from Cloudjumper, " **Right, we'll split up** ," He pointed to the Nadder and the Whispering Death, " **You two come with me and we'll find the Hatchling. The rest of you fly around to the various islands and get what dragons you can—try the Bog Burglars especially**." He pointed to the Changewing, " **You track down Shamrock and those Treejumpers. By the time we get back with the Hatchling, hopefully we'll have a full sized army waiting for him**!" he shot Cloudjumper a dirty look, and the dragons took off into the night.

" **Fools** ," Cloudjumper said, " **they'll only get themselves and a whole lot more killed, and for what? If they had just not stuck their noses into matters that did not concern them, none of this would have happened! If they had** —" he stopped as he realized what he was saying.

Stoick's arm twitched, then a leg, and then his face. His skin slowly turned back to its normal hue. He looked around and frowned. Then he struggled onto his feet. "Well, well, well. So what's all this, Grimborn?"

"I do hope you are none the worse for wear, Chief Stoick," Viggo said calmly, "it will be easier for what you are about to endure."

"If it's to be torture, you've got the wrong Viking to play with," Stoick growled.

Viggo smiled slightly. "Vikings never crack, do they?"

"And villains never shut up," Stoick countered.

"I'm no villain, Stoick. I am merely a businessman trying to make an honest living and save his enterprises from persecution and destruction."

Stoick laughed humorlessly. "Really? And how does any of _this_ fit into making an honest living? You do realize you're finished now, right? Once Hiccup returns, he won't rest until your body is in a shallow grave and your flesh is being devoured by maggots!"

"I know he'll come back. And I intend to make that gruesome poetry apply to him," Viggo said, a touch of venom in his tone. "Now tell me Stoick, since we won't get another chance to talk about it, did you wonder how I got out of your prison? I offered a bribe and it was accepted."

"Every guard denied helping you or accepting anything," Stoick retorted.

"Oh they didn't. But _he_ did," and he pointed to Mildew. "He heard your guards joking about my offers, and it got him thinking. So he gave the guards drugged mead, bound them, and stole the keys to let them out. Isn't that right, Mildew?"

"Ser-prized, Stoick?" Mildew grinned.

"Not really," Stoick said heavily, "honestly, we should have suspected you from the beginning."

"But ya didn't! An' now that yer 'ere, Viggo, where's ma money?"

Viggo gestured to Ryker. Ryker walked up to the old man and stabbed him in the chest. Mildew's eyes bulged and his mouth opened slightly. He fell to the floor dead.

Stoick was so astounded he could not speak at first. "What in the name of Thor—"

"The first rule of business is to look after your own interests," Viggo said calmly, "I saw no reason to pay the man and he was of no further value to me. And I perceived it would be more satisfying to tell you of his treachery and deny you the chance to take your revenge upon him. And I was right, it is much more satisfying," he stood up and drew close to Stoick, "Very satisfying. And I intend for it to be only the first in a long stretch of satisfaction, Stoick the Vast." He looked up. "Take him out to the docks. And somebody clean up the floor."

Some hunters were still loading paralyzed people, and by this point they had gotten tired and monotonously fallen into routine. They attached no significance to the person they had just picked up, or realized it was Stoick's wife they were carrying it. Her body was just one more statue from a still large pile. So they did not notice the color in her face returning. Until she pulled so hard that the hunters holding her arms banged into each other.

"What the—!"

Valka flopped onto the dock, kicked one hunter into the water, grabbed another by the head and sent him likewise, seized the sword of a dazed third one, and started running towards the island, ignoring the shouts behind her.

In the woods, Fishlegs Ingerman had come to roughly the same conclusion as the group of free dragons had. He had seen enough of what was going on, and was all too aware that he had no hope of mounting such a rescue alone. But unlike the dragons, his thoughts turned to looking to humans for aid. But he knew he had to move at once. If Viggo was so smart he would surely know by now that some of the Original Dragon Riders were unaccounted for. Possibly he planned to do to other tribes what he had just done to Berk. Berk's allies needed to be warned, and they had to rally or perish. So he mounted Meatlug and urged her to fly as fast as she could.

Stoick was dragged forcefully off Viggo's ship and onto the dock. He struggled as much as he could but there were too many people even for him. In the red firelight he saw for the first time what was happening to Berk. He had seen this kind of sight many times. He had seen it after dragon raids and battles. It was the sight of a ruined village. A village that was a shell of what it used to be and would soon be completely destroyed if nothing was done to help it. He fought to keep a straight face.

"I've seen worse," he said half heartedly. It was sadly true, but he sensed he would not be around to rebuild it this time. The men guarding him were pushing him to get onto his knees, and he heard the sound of an axe being sharpened.

Seeing his village being plundered once again made him wonder if he actually had been a good Chief. Had anything he done actually helped? Had he worked so hard to keep Berk alive that he had killed it in the process? What would his family and ancestors say to him when he met them in Valhalla?

The thought of Valhalla made him realize something. Valhalla was for fallen warriors. But he was not going to be permitted to die as a warrior; instead he was going to die like a common criminal: by execution. Viggo was ensuring his soul went to Hel, not Valhalla. That was one of the cruelest punishments for a Viking. It made him angry. Furious even. And there seemed to be nothing he could do about it.

The men guarding him heard shouting behind them. All heads turned and saw Valka running along a different set of docks, with two hunters in hot pursuit. Stoick grinned and suddenly slammed his body into one of his guards.

"Get 'em, Val! Get out of here!" he shouted as he rammed into another. Even with his limbs bound he could still put up a fight. And then a guard stabbed him in the leg. Another hit him in the back with a hammer. He fell onto the dock with a thud and his guards quickly went about subduing him. He struggled against them with every ounce of his strength, but in vain.

Valka heard him shout and froze in her tracks. The hunters were so surprised they ran into her and she shoved them into the harbor. She turned and looked over at Stoick. The docks they were on were too far apart to jump to. Between them was the freezing black water of the harbor.

"Stoick…" she whispered. She could not see him give her a reassuring smile as a guard behind him raised an axe. "STOICK!"

Stoick made certain that the last thing he saw was his wife.

Valka screamed and ran down the docks and onto land, ignoring everything. More hunters were chasing her. She turned away from the village and made for the woods. She could hear her pursuers grunting, and they sounded so close, but she hardly heeded it. She could hardly even see where she was going nor did she really care. She had just seen her husband's execution.

The hunters put on an extra burst of speed and were just about to reach her, when Cloudjumper leapt in front of them and with one breath turned their bones to ashes. He and Valka exchanged no words. She just climbed onto him and he took off into the night.

Eret walked reluctantly down to the cargo hold, a sheet of parchment in his hand. After consulting it, he said to the prisoners in a commanding tone, "Which of you here is Greta Hofferson?"

Everybody ignored him.

"Look, you're only making things more difficult on yourself. Which of you is Greta Hofferson?"

He asked the question several more times, eyeing the prisoners to see how they reacted. When he reached Greta she finally admitted who she was.

Eret turned to the hunter accompanying him. "Transfer her to the cargo hold on Viggo's ship."

He nodded. Eret quickly stole outside, supposedly to get some fresh air. He watched as Greta Hofferson was forcefully dragged off the ship and pulled to another one. She went without a sound but struggled against her bonds so roughly that the guards decided to grab a Speed Stinger and use its stinger to paralyze her.

Cloudjumper stopped on a sea stack in the middle of the ocean. From there they could faintly make out the fires in Berk's harbor but nothing else. Valka climbed down off of the Stormcutter and vomited. Cloudjumper looked at her uncertainly. Her eyes were red and glistening, and her cheeks were tearstained.

" **Valka, I am so sorry, if I had been a little faster** —"

" **Save it** ," she said, her voice hoarse but curt. " **Save it. Words won't change what's happened**." She took a deep breath. " **We're going to our nest and we're coming back with every dragon in it—either to free Berk or avenge it**."

" **What about your son**?"

She shook her head. " **He'll find out soon enough on his own, if he's still alive, and we can't waste time trying to find him. Flying to the nest will take long enough as it is**."

Cloudjumper nodded grimly. " **I'll go as fast as I can** ,"

By the menacing red firelight, Viggo looked around the docks, very pleased with what he saw. Ryker came over.

"The woman who was Stoick's wife has escaped!"

"Execute some of the hunters who allowed this," Viggo replied, "Make examples of them."

"Should we go after her? She might go get the Dragon King, or go to that nest of hers and bring her dragons back!"

"I rather hope she does," Viggo said calmly, "it will save us the trouble of having to locate them." He smiled, "this has been a very successful day, my brother. We have done good business. I think I will turn in."


	29. Chapter 29

**Wow. 7 Reviews in one day for Chapter 28. Most chapters don't get that many reviews over the course of a week! And even better, the traffic map finally listed 400. That's the highest this story has ever gotten. Thanks everyone!**

 **And I would very much like to thank the guest who gave me that very long review. I found it very touching and insightful.**

 **But I've got a problem: excluding the revision each chapter is subjected to, I have only a chapter and a half left to write to complete this story, and I don't feel any motivation to write it!**

 **If anyone finds parts of this chapter confusing, the author's note at the end will hopefully clear things up!**

 **Chapter 29**

 **The Alpha**

Hiccup and Toothless stepped quickly down the tunnel. Toothless had to lead, because it was so dark Hiccup could not see, and he had lost Inferno in his fall. The tunnel was barely large enough to accommodate Toothless; if he were half a meter wider or taller he would have hit the walls. Much of the walls and floor were smooth and worn down, clearly indicating this tunnel had been used by something frequently.

They had lost sight of the Night Fury, but as there was only one way to go they knew they would catch up to it soon enough. Then all of a sudden the tunnel gave way to a larger cavern, and they found 10 black dragons right in front of them, mouths opened and wings lifted menacingly.

This probably would have been the end for Hiccup if he had been alone, for the Night Furies had showed no hint of merciful intentions, but the appearance of Toothless sent a wave of surprise and confusion through them. Most looked at each other uncertainly, not knowing what to do. It was one thing to attack a human intruder, but when the intruder was accompanied by a fellow Night Fury, and one that was behaving very protectively at that, that was something they had no idea how to react to.

Toothless and Hiccup were likewise astonished. Until this day, neither of them had ever seen so many Night Furies, and they were more than a little unsure of how to approach them. Would the usual methods for approaching a dragon work here? But they realized that their only way out was back through the tunnel, so they held their ground and waited, ready to back up if needed.

Finally one Night Fury, the largest of the group, came forward a little ways. " **Who are you and what are you doing here**?" She spoke to Toothless, " **Why were you chasing my plorip? What is that umanu doing with you?** "

Under different circumstances, Hiccup would have joked "which question do you want me to answer first?" but he said nothing. Toothless eyed the Night Fury who had addressed him. She was a bit larger than he was, and looked fairly older.

" **Apologies about your…what was it?** " Toothless said at last, with carefully chosen words.

" **My plorip! The Notoraquin whose egg I laid and hatched, you inferior minded fish**!"

"I think she means her daughter, bud," Hiccup muttered.

" **Oh…well, like I said, sorry about that. And the human is a friend. We came here searching for you, and my name is Toothless**."

The Night Furies snorted. "' **Toothless'**?" One of them repeated scornfully, " **What kind of identification is that? Did the umanu give it to you**?"

" **If by 'umanu' you mean 'human', As a matter of fact, he did** ," Toothless turned to Hiccup and muttered, " **Keep quiet for the moment, all right**?"

" **Is it some kind of enforcer**?" one asked anxiously, " **Did it enslave you? Hold on, we'll set you free**!"

Hiccup raised his hands. " **Now just hold on a minute! Toothless isn't enslaved by anyone**!"

" **So much for keeping quiet** ," Toothless groaned. The Night Furies were horrified.

" **It can understand us**?"

" **It can speak our tongue**?"

" **If I got paid for how many times I got asked that** ," Hiccup muttered.

" **Silence**!" the largest Night Fury snapped.

" **Shall we attack them, Menomem**?" one of the Night Furies asked.

She looked like she wanted them to, but held her temper. " **The Alepha will want to know of this. He shall decide their fates**."

" **Or she'll decide it for him** ," one Night Fury whispered to another, who nodded in agreement.

" **What was that**?" Menomem shouted, but everyone stood perfectly still. " **Take them to the Alepha, now**!"

As they moved through the cavern Hiccup got to observe the Night Furies more attentively. For the most part they were all about the same size as Toothless, give or take a few cubits. Even the one called Menomem was not much larger than him. He noticed their eyes were not the bright forest green that Toothless had, but more of a muted and bluish green. Most of them had small spines running down their backs, and, Hiccup could not help but notice many of them looked a bit overweight. Whereas Toothless was very muscular, they looked more pudgy and plump. It was not evident in some of them, for instance Menomen and another named Sclepus looked very fit, but the rest reminded him of humans who did not exercise regularly. It was not quite what he expected Night Furies to look like.

And yet, there was unmistakable power and pride in all of them. It was evident they knew they were Night Furies and were proud of being part of such a species. The way they moved, held their heads, raised their legs, moved their tails, these all carried an aura of self importance and superiority. He had seen it in Toothless on occasion. Hiccup could not help but feel he was in the midst of Dragon royalty, and would not have been surprised if they saw themselves that way.

The passages were all pitch black. Toothless had to light up his mouth so Hiccup could see where they were walking, something the other dragons disapproved of but saw the wisdom behind it.

And then they stopped. Hiccup looked around and guessed they were in an immense cavern, though he had no idea how large. He could see only the dimmest outlines of dragons where the light from Toothless did not reach. A Night Fury, who he supposed to be Menomem, stepped forward.

" **Alepha, we bring trespassers** ," she said in an authoritative voice.

" **Trespassers? You woke me up for something that boring**?" someone responded impatiently, " **get rid of them and let me sleep**!"

The other dragons looked uneasy. " **Forgive me, my Alepha, but perhaps you should take a closer look at this for yourself. One of the…'trespassers' is a Notoraquin** ," said one of them.

" **So**?"

Menomem moved in the direction of the voice. " **So** ," she growled softly, though everyone easily heard it, " **you should take a look at him and find out how there is a Notoraquin outside of the flock, and why he brings an umanu with him!"**

" **And why they were chasing your plorip,"** another added.

" **Be quiet, Nikalean** ," scowled Menomem, " **Well, Alepha? Will you grace us with your presence and honor us with your wisdom**?"

" **Oh fine** ," the dragon grumbled. Hiccup heard the sound of claws on stone. Slowly a new Night Fury came into view and Hiccup and Toothless saw the Alpha of Dragons for the first time.

And were unimpressed. Hiccup had to remind himself that appearances were deceiving and one should not judge based on them. He had been living proof of that. Still, it was hard to be underwhelmed by the sight of the Alpha. He was smaller than Toothless and probably younger, and looked very plump. His legs resembled stretched out potatoes, especially when compared to Toothless's, his tail was short and stubby, and his wings were ragged, thin, and limp, clearly showing a lack of usage.

A much larger and more muscular dragon stood beside him, eyeing them like a tiger eyeing a buck. The Alpha looked at them only half interestedly, and said impatiently, " **Well? Speak up! Who are you two and what do you want? Whatever it is, see my hoah about it and leave your Alepha in peace**!"

Menomen nudged him in the tail. " **And what were you doing chasing my plorip**?" he added sulkily.

" **Where is Radamar, anyway**?" one Night Fury whispered to another.

" **Menomen told my mate to watch her while we investigated** ," the other returned.

Hiccup stepped forward, his hands up, " **I'm sorry for any** —"

" **You will bow when you speak to me**!" the Alpha cried, " **I am the Alepha! I command you all, bow**!"

Every dragon bowed at once, even Toothless. Hiccup looked around, a bit amused.

" **Why doesn't that thing bow upon my command**?" the Alpha demanded, " **What is it, anyway**?"

" **It's an umanu** ," growled Menomen, " **You know what those are** ,"

" **Of course I do! I was only testing everyone else**!" the Alpha said hastily.

" **And it does not bow upon command, my Alepha, because, as you know, only dragons obey your commands instinctively** ,"

" **And why is that**?" the Alpha demanded.

" **Obviously because Night Furies are much more important creatures and humans are not worthy of your time and efforts** ," Toothless said quickly. Hiccup at once fell onto his knees. " **I apologize for his shortcomings, Alpha. These humans are so dense that orders have to be repeated a few times before they respond. And he is just so awed by your presence his mind was not reacting to anything else**."

The Alpha looked pleased. " **Really**?"

The Dragon next to him snorted. " **Lies! We all know what those creatures are like! Sniveling, murderous, conniving worms, the lot of them! I'll bet this one's here to kill you, my Alepha**!"

The Alpha was alarmed, but Hiccup quickly put a hand up. " **We are here for no such thing! We only wanted to have a look at the Alpha, and to find other Night Furies**!"

" **What are Night Furies**?" one dragon asked, " **We are the Notoraquin**!"

" **And what's an Alpha? It's pronounced 'Alepha'** ,"

" **Why have you been looking for the Alepha**?" the Dragon next to the Alpha demanded. " **Tell him now or I will make you**!"

" **Oh calm down, Agaruba, and let them talk**!" exclaimed the dragon named Sclepus. Then in a gentler tone he said " **But he is right, and we would all like to know how it is that there's a Notoraquin here who does not belong to our nest. Right, my Alepha?"**

" **Err…of course! Well? Speak up!"**

As disarmingly and succinctly as he could, Toothless explained that he had hatched alone, with no other Night Furies present. He hastily added that the term Night Fury was what Vikings called their species. He then revealed that throughout his life he had been searching for his own kind (to a certain extent, but they did not need to know the full details). So when he had learned that this was the Isle of Night, he had come to search it.

The dragons by and large sympathized with him, and understood that end of the story easily.

" **Hatchling alone, that must have been difficult**."

" **Murderous umanu, they probably killed your kalk and hoah before you hatched**!"

" **Impressive that you've survived on your own** ,"

" **And he's quite a fine example of our race, wouldn't you say**?"

" **Except he hasn't been on his own** ," the one named Agagruba growled, " **have you forgotten the umanu**?"

They had not, and that meant a longer explanation which proved much harder for them to swallow. Toothless glossed over certain details, like who had shot his tailfin off, and he completely left out anything about returning to Berk. As far as these Night Furies knew, Toothless and Hiccup had run away years ago and had been in the wilderness ever since, nor did they know that the two had brought others to the island.

" **But how did an umanu get this close to our island without us knowing it**?" asked a female.

" **The Alepha knew and simply decided not to inform you, Kalitalavook** ," replied her mate, " **there is nothing odd about that. The Alepha can sense the presence of any dragon whenever and wherever he wishes** ,"

" **Why of course I can**!" the Alpha cried proudly, " **Thomaingot is right! I knew all about this Notoraquin, but I have been trained to keep my innermost thoughts to myself**!"

" **Really**?" Hiccup said, " **So it's true then? You can command any dragon at any moment wherever you are**?"

" **Of course he can**!" Menomen snapped, " **He's the Alepha! Every dragon bows to him and does whatever he desires**."

" **Pardon my curiosity** ," Toothless said carefully. He knew what Hiccup wanted to ask and he felt it would be more respected if the question came from a dragon. " **But a decade ago I was under the control of a tyrannical Beta. All of us there often wondered why the Alpha…err…Alepha, I mean…why did the Alepha not tell the Beta to stop eating us?** "

" **Are you accusing the Alepha of inaction**?" demanded one of the Night Furies, and the others at once got down on their hunches and growled.

" **Not at all! I'm merely wondering why my nest suffered so much, when the Alpha—sorry, Alepha—could simply have ordered the Beta to stop**." Toothless tried to keep his tone gentle, but in vain.

" **If you dare to insult me again, I—I shall** —!"

" **Stop it**!" shouted one of the Night Furies in the back of the group. Hiccup recognized her as the one they had followed into the caverns. " **Vav, he asks a reasonable question**."

" **Radamar, keep quiet** ," Menomen growled. " **What are you doing here? I told you to stay put! I'm going to have a word with Monarvom about this!** "

" **My hoah, I want to know too! If there are other nests out there that are suffering, why aren't we doing anything**?"

Menomen growled again. " **Always thinking of the outside world as if it matters**." She turned to Hiccup and Toothless. " **And to answer your question, the Alepha can sense and command any dragon he choose to, but only** _ **when**_ **he choose to. If he does not desire it, it will not happen. As for your nest, answer me something first: was it a nest of Notoraquin**?"

Toothless shook his head. " **I was the only one. The rest were dragons of all kinds. The ones unlucky enough to get caught by the Red Death**."

Menomen had shown some concern at first, but as soon as she learned the nest contained no other Night Furies she let her lack of interest show. " **Oh. Well then, I'm sorry for the losses, but that's how it is at times**."

" **At least there weren't any Notoraquin being eaten** ," another agreed.

Toothless looked ready to start arguing, but Hiccup made a quick motion to urge him not to. They were outnumbered nearly 7 to 1 at the moment, and had no idea how many others might be hiding in this subterranean world.

" **If you ask me** ," another female said, " **what matters most now is what we're going to do with these two**?"

" **Just what I was going to suggest, Nikalean** ," Agaruba said approvingly, " **Now, with the Notoraquin—what's your name, anyway**?"

" **I told you. It's Toothless**."

" **No, no, what is your** _ **real**_ **name**?"

Toothless eyed him in annoyance. " **That** _ **is**_ **my real name**."

" **But it's not a proper Notoraquin name**!" argued Nikalean.

" **It's not really a proper name to any culture** ," Hiccup remarked lightly, " **it just sort of ended up sticking with him** ,"

Nobody listened. Instead the one named Kalitalavook said " **How about 'Emaracluse'? That's a dignified name that would suit you just** —"

" **My name is Toothless**."

" **Not anymore**!" the Alpha announced, " **I have spoken! Now, my hoah, my plorip, why don't you find Emaracluse a den**?"

" **And what about the umanu**?" Agaruba demanded.

" **Kill it** ," Menomen said as if it was obvious.

" **NO**!" Toothless shouted. Simultaneously Radamar cried the same thing, much to everyone's surprise.

" **What is the meaning of this**?" demanded Menomen, " **You would speak out against your own hoah**?"

" **And her Alepha! Radamar, what is the matter with you? Are you trying to undermine my authority**?"

" **I mean** ," Radamar said nervously, trying to recover the initiative, " **shouldn't we keep him alive until we can learn more? What if he's secretly got an army nearby, and they're waiting for his signal before attacking? How did he find us? What else does he know? How did he enslave Tooth—Emaracluse? Shouldn't we find out these things first**?"

" **She has a point** ," Agaruba grimaced, " **And I would certainly no object to spending a little** _ **time**_ **with this thing** ,"

Hiccup's hands began to shake. People only used that tone when they intended to do something horrible to someone else.

" **What can an umanu possible tell us that we don't already know**?" demanded Menomen, " **But he could tell his own kind about us and they'd come here and wipe us out. We'll kill him and ask Emaracluse your questions, my plorip**." She turned to the Alpha impatiently, " **Now, may I**?"

The Alpha shrugged. " **Go ahead, my hoah**."

" **WHAT**?" Toothless yelled, lunging in front of Hiccup, who had pulled out his shield.

" **Get away from him** ," the Alpha ordered, " **Don't worry, Emaracluse, we'll soon have you freed from his control**."

" **But he's not controlling me** —!"

" **And be quiet for now, all of you**."

Toothless had no choice but to move away and stop talking.

" **Toothless**?" Hiccup called nervously. Menomen opened her mouth. " **Now look, if we just talked this over, I can prove that I'm not** —"

She spat plasma at him. Hiccup instinctively moved his shield and deflected it.

The Night Furies looked stunned. Menomen regained her composure and fired again. Hiccup blocked it and sent the plasma shooting into the wall. She tried twice more in quick succession from different angles, but he blocked them both.

Menomen would have attacked him with her claws and teeth at this, or suggest others join her and blast him together, but the Alpha suddenly held up his tail. " **How can this be? Our shots can penetrate anything! What is that thing you're holding**?"

" **It's a shield, my Alpha** ," Hiccup said, not taking his eyes off Menomen.

" **May I see it**?"

" **If you don't mind, I'd rather not, unless you** —"

" **Oh, of course. Hoah, don't hurt him. Nobody hurts him for now, understood**?" he looked around waiting for an answer. " **Oh, do I** _ **always**_ **have to give orders around here? You're all free to speak**."

" **Good! Now why are you letting this thing live**?" shouted Agaruba, " **just blast it from both sides and get it over with**!"

" **Over my dead body**!" Toothless bellowed.

" **That can be arranged** ," the other snarled. But every other Night Fury, including Menomen, shook their heads vigorously and shouted " **The First Law!** "

" **I believe it is the Alpha's turn to speak**!" Hiccup said loudly. " **Sorry, I mean** _ **Alepha**_ ,"

" **Of course it is**!" the Alpha said, " **now, this shield of yours—what else can it block**?"

" **Pretty much everything that's been fired at it. Arrows, blasts from other dragons, spears, swords, tail spines** …"

" **And pomegranates** ," Toothless added, hoping to reduce the tension a little, " **remember those fruit pickers we ran into passing through Italy**?" They laughed but the Night Furies looked confused.

" **What are pomegranates**?" one asked.

" **They're a kind of fruit** ," Hiccup said.

" **Fruit**?"

Hiccup realized that these Dragons had probably never paid attention to such things before. After all, they did not eat them and no fruit grew down in these caverns, so such knowledge was beyond their reach and use.

" **They're these squishy, round, and juicy things that grow on trees. We humans and other animals like to eat them. And I know of some dragons that do too**!"

" **Never mind them** ," the Alpha's mother said impatiently, " **Alepha, what is it about the shield that you are so interested in**?"

" **Think about it, hoah, if I had scales like that, I'd be invincible! Well, umanu? Can you put that shield onto my body or something**?"

" **You want a suit of armor**?" Hiccup asked. " **Certainly, that's feasible, except…well this is made from Gronkle Iron. I'd need a Gronkle** ,"

" **What's a Gronkle? Never mind. If it's a dragon, I can summon one right now**!" the Alpha cried, but his mother shook her head at once.

" **No! Our nest must stay secret! And inferior species have no right to come here**!"

Hiccup frowned. "' **Inferior'**?"

" **Yes, inferior**." She snapped, " **I suppose I should not expect a mere umanu to understand. But the Notoraquin are the greatest species of dragons to exist. They have furnished the Alepha for generations. They must endure at all costs**."

" **Even if it means hiding out in a cave forever**?" Hiccup said incredulously.

" **As I said, I should not expect a mere umanu to understand**."

" **But I want armor that strong, hoah! I want to be invincible**!"

" **You already** _ **are**_ **invincible, as long as you stay where it is safe. Where** _ **we**_ **are safe**." she said firmly.

" **But I still want that kind of armor! I want it**!" he looked at Hiccup eagerly, " **Does it have to be Gronkle—whatever that stuff is, does it have to be that? Couldn't a Notoraquin produce even better stuff**?"

Hiccup looked at Toothless who merely shrugged. " **It's possible. We won't know until we try, of course** ,"

" **Good, than you shall try**!" the Alpha said, " **You will make me a suit of armor that will make me invincible! Then we'll kill you. I have spoken!"**

His mother and Agabruba especially looked displeased but saw little chance of changing the Alpha's mind for the moment.

" **Where shall we put the umanu than**?" Sclepus asked.

" **Oh find him a den, I don't care. This is tiring me out. I'm going to go back to sleep**." The Alpha said impatiently, " **Well, umanu, I expect to see my armor tomorrow**."

" **But I can't have it ready in a single day**!" Hiccup yelled after the retreating Alpha, " **I don't even have the materials to make anything**!"

The Alpha groaned. " **Why do they always bring problems to** _ **me**_ **? Talk to someone about it, I'm going back to sleep**."

" **Where should your…'friend' stay**?" Asked Radamar uncertainly. She, her mother, and Toothless were walking down another passage, with Hiccup beside them.

" **With me, of course** ," Toothless said severely.

" **Nonsense** ," Menomen snapped, " **I won't have some filthy umanu in a Notoraquin den. Put it in that chamber over there. I'm sure it'll be comfortable enough** ,"

Toothless looked ready to argue but Hiccup put a hand up. " **Let's submit, Bud—for now** ," he added in a whisper.

Toothless turned to the other Night Furies. " **I'd like a word with him alone**."

" **Anything you have to say to it can be said** —"

" **I** _ **said**_ **alone**."

Now Menomen looked ready to argue. Radamar quickly said " **Hoah, let them have one last word together. What harm can it do**?"

Menomen turned away with a scowl. " **We'll be over here. Join us when you're done, but don't take too long**!"

" **Sheesh, Mala's friendlier than that one** ," Hiccup said, " **If I'd known your ego was small in comparison to the rest of your species we'd have stayed home**."

For a fleeting moment Toothless gave his namesake's smile. " **Look, we'd better be quick. Whatever plans you come up with, don't let me in on them, all right? For all we know, the Alpha could read my mind and discover them. Or he could give me orders and I'd have to obey them. But I won't talk if I can't talk**."

" **And what if he orders you to never leave this island**?" Hiccup's voice trembled slightly.

" **We'll have to find a way to change his mind in that case, I guess** ," Toothless said quickly, " **Or we'll have make sure he never has to give such—see, that's what I mean, you say something and we start making plans about it. You can't share anything with me now, Hiccup. For both our sakes**."

" **I know** ," Hiccup said grimly as he took his gear off of the Dragon's back.

Toothless looked at him proudly. " **You've already got a plan in mind, don't you? Your brain always was faster than your legs**."

" **But not as fast as my body in freefall** ,"

" **Ugh, don't remind me of those. But as I was saying, don't let me know your plans. The Alpha might force me to spoil them**."

" **I know. But what about—**?" he gestured upwards. " **Any chance you could send a mental message to you-know-who without anyone knowing**?"

" **Not likely. And if they find out we've got more** —"

" **They'll probably tear every human to pieces, yes, I get it." Hiccup shifted his weight. "So we're on our own, it seems**."

" **Are you done yet**?" Menomem shouted impatiently.

"' **Are you done yet'**?" Toothless muttered in a high pitched voice, " **Are you done saying goodbye to your best friend for the time being? Oh pardon me, I only want to talk with him to exchange scents! Oh do excuse me, I'm off to the Roman Circus**!"

" **You don't talk like that normally** ," Hiccup sniggered.

" **This is hardly a normal situation**." Toothless replied dryly.

" **Now that sounds like something** _ **I'd**_ **say** ,"

Toothless gave him a quick lick. " **Take care of yourself. I'll try to see you when I can. And remember, they can't hurt you unless the Alpha changes his mind, but still…just don't give him any reason to change it, all right?** "

" **I get to make a shield from nothing and you get to spend time with old sourpuss. This isn't what I expected when I thought of finding Night Furies, you know**."

" **Me neither** ," Toothless turned away, " **All right, all right, I'm coming**!"

Hiccup's 'chamber' resembled a tunnel that had been started and abruptly abandoned. He had not expected any comforts in it and he was not disappointed. It was just rocks and darkness. It reminded him of the cell in Spain where Adoncia had tortured him, and his hands twitched.

"Actually, I think that cell was even more luxurious," he muttered, "that at least had some straw and walls you could actually see. This is just…nothing."

Mostly by touch, he put his gear in a corner, unrolled his sleeping pad while praying there were no cockroaches underneath it, and sat down to think.

First he thought of the terms he had heard, trying to make sense of them. 'Alepha' and 'umanu' he gathered meant 'Alpha' and 'human', and he guessed 'hoah' meant 'mother.' The way Menomem had talked to the Alpha, or _Alepha_ , he reminded himself, implied that she was probably his mother. As for the other words he had heard, judging by the context in which they were used, 'plorip' seemed to mean 'sister', or perhaps daughter, or maybe both. That would make Radamar the Alpha's sister, so 'Vav' would mean brother, and 'Kalk' might mean 'father'.

"This Night Fury vocabulary is pretty interesting. Oh right, it's not Night Fury, it's Notoraquin," he reminded himself, "I wonder where they came up with that one. And they didn't know what a Gronkle was? I suppose a nest that's been in hiding for so long would have different words from other dragons, but still…how long have they been in hiding? And how long are we going to be hiding?" his thoughts turned to Astrid and the others. Good Gods, was it not even a few hours ago that Snotlout had pushed him into that ravine? It already felt like ages. And what would happen when they realized he and Toothless were missing?

"A better question is what will happen if the Alpha realizes there are other dragons with 'umanu' on this island," he thought darkly, "Astrid and Snotl—well, _Astrid_ doesn't have a shield like mine. I wonder why she never wanted one. Evidently that lesson of Gobber's didn't sink in enough." He snorted but was not really in a humorous mood.

A barely visible shadow descended in front of him and Hiccup found himself face to face with a Night Fury again.

" **What are you thinking about**?" Agaruba asked menacingly.

" **Dragon friends of mine in the outside world, who will probably miss me sooner or later** ,"

" **And are these 'friends' here**?"

" **I have no idea** ," Hiccup said truthfully.

Agaruba moved so his nose was almost touching Hiccup's face. His breath smelled foul. " **Now you listen, umanu. My duty is to protect Salistus, this nest, and my kind, and I am going to do just that. Salistus might want you alive for the moment, but the instant he changes his mind—and he can easily be persuaded to do so—I will have no qualms about ending you, regardless of what that newcomer says or thinks**."

" **I'm guessing Salistus is the Alpha's real name**?"

" **He's the Alepha, but I should not expect an umanu to know the proper word for anything related to my kind. You understand nothing but your own desires**."

Hiccup raised an eyebrow. " **And you don't**?"

Agaruba might have killed him then and there if not for his orders. " **Heed my warning, umanu. If I get one hint that you're planning something, I will tell Salistus without waiting. One wrong move and it will be the last thing you ever do—except scream when my teeth pierce your ribs**."

Hiccup smiled grimly. " **I've been threatened many times, Agaruba. You know what I've found? Threats are harmless if you can't back them up**."

" **And I can**." Agaruba spat and turned away.

"And has he ever actually hurt anything?" Hiccup asked lightly, but he sensed Agaruba could indeed back up his threats. Physically speaking the dragon certainly had the advantage. That meant Hiccup's safety depended on keeping the Alpha amused.

"Well that shouldn't be too hard—I hope,"

He was aware he did not know the whole story, but from what he had seen the current Alpha looked like nothing more than a spoiled brat; a kid put on the throne by ambitious nobles to serve as their puppet. He could not help but think of the Bewilderbeast. When he thought how that magnificent creature aspired to live up to the standards an Alpha should have, and compared it to the real Alpha, he almost felt sick.

And the other Night Furies seemed little better. How long had they been hiding down here, sitting comfortably in their cave while the rest of the world had bled and starved? Probably 400 years, he thought darkly. He guessed the last known Alpha had gone into hiding with the rest of his species, and they had probably been hiding ever since. And because no Alpha had bothered to exercise their power, the Red Death had been able to become a tyrant and began a 300 year war with the Vikings in the area. And because no Alpha had bothered to exercise their power, there had been no way to stop the Razorwhip from ordering the destruction of the Sanctuary last year.

These thoughts were making him grow angry and he felt justified. He still blamed himself for a lot of what had happened in the war with Drago Bludvist, but even so, those lives and many hundreds more might never have been lost if the Alpha had actually acted like an Alpha.

"So they hid from the world and left me to clean up the mess."

 **Author's Note on the Night Furies:**

 **In early development the Night Furies were going to be named after celestial objects like stars and constellations. This was because Radamar was originally named Aurora and she was the only named Night Fury at the time. While this concept would work just fine in other stories, the more I thought about it the more I realized it was out of place in this one. A society that has been avoiding the rest of the world for centuries would never use human terms for names, and giving them original names would further separate them from other dragons. So every Night Fury got a completely made up name, and the only rule was the first and last letters had to be the same.**

 **Similarly, I decided that they should have some of their own words which no other dragons use, and that some words should have grown altered over the course of centuries. That is why these dragons call the Alpha 'Alpeha'. The way I see it, at first they said 'Alpha' but over time they started pronouncing it differently and since nobody was around to correct them, the alteration became their standard usage.**

 **Here is the page I created and consulted while writing these chapters:**

 **Night Fury—Notoraquin**

 **Mother—Hoah**

 **Father—Kalk**

 **Sister/daughter—Plorip**

 **Brother/son—Vav**

 **Alpha—Alepha**

 **Human—umanu**

 **You will note that that two Night Fury terms have multiple meanings. That is because the Night Furies use different pitches to express the usage. I got the idea from the Navajo language, where they use low and high tones for words that, if transcribed, would have the same spelling. So Menomem and Salistus both may call Radamar "Plorip," but Menomen is saying "daughter" and Salistus is saying "Sister."**


	30. Chapter 30

**I Own Nothing**

 **All Rights Reserved**

 **My heart and prayers go out to Texas and Louisiana, and all others whose lives have been impacted by Hurricane Harvey**

 **To the guest reviewer from chapter 29, thank you for your kind words, and fear not! One way or another, this story is going to get finished. All I ask is a little patience. I delayed posting this chapter a little because I was unsatisfied with it and had some trouble finding time to make the revisions. This chapter should answer some of your other question as well.**

 **Chapter 30**

 **The Twin's Dilemmas**

Thanks to several fistfights and squabbles about random and useless information, the Thorsten Twins and Chicken did not return to Berk until nearly 2 days after Viggo had sacked it. By that time several ships in Viggo's fleet, including his own, had already departed. The first impulse the Twins had was to swoop in and blast every ship that remained and rescue everyone. Cooler second thoughts prevailed, for like those who had escaped before them, they realized they were badly outnumbered and had little hope of any substantial success. Again like those who had escaped before them, they realized they were going to need some help. But Tuffnut had a different idea about where to get help from.

"No, we are not going to Gruffnut!" His sister shouted.

"He's the obvious choice! He's family, he's smart, he's tough, and he's got friends in high places that can help!" Tuffnut insisted.

"Who told you he's got friends in high places?" Ruffnut demanded.

"He did!"

"Right, because everything _Gruffnut_ says is the truth."

"Well have you got any _better_ ideas?" Demanded her brother, "Who else can we turn to?"

"How about Camicazi?"

Tuffnut snorted. "What could _she_ do? She can't hold a candle to Gruffnut!"

In the end they flipped a coin. Tuffnut got his way, but Ruffnut made no secret about disliking it.

It should have been a three day flight to the port where Gruffnut lived, but the Twins took four and did not arrive until late at night. It was probably just as well for Barf n' Belch. This was one of those islands that still allowed the dragon trade to continue—for a hefty fee. So they left their Zippleback and Chicken in the woods, and made their way through the streets looking for 'Nifty Norton's Tavern of Happiness', where Gruffnut had said he was working.

The walkways were muddy and the buildings were rundown. It was as if nobody had ever rebuilt a single house, even during the dragon wars. The air was dank and smelled foul. The night was cold and a fog had settled in, so that the buildings on the other side of the road were mere phantoms. The visible lighted windows looked uninviting, as if saying they would rather the doors of their residence stay shut all night. Even the tavern they eventually found looked less welcoming than one would expect a tavern to look. It was a squalid looking place that looked ready to fall over at any moment. A miserable and creaking roof was held up by walls covered in so much grim the original wood was practically invisible. They could hear loud drunken shouts and oaths coming from inside.

"He lives _here_?" Ruffnut said in disgust.

"He lives anywhere he pleases. He's just working to get some money," Tuffnut assured her.

" _Everybody_ works to get some money!" she snapped.

"Well they can't all live in palaces!" he retorted before heading inside. The interior was no more impressive than the exterior was, but thanks to a lit and very grimy fireplace, at least it was a bit warmer. Still, the place looked like it had not been properly cleaned in years. There was a game of dice going on at one center table, with quite a crowd around it. The clinking of money and ale mugs rang through the air like music set to an irregular rhythm.

A man spotted them and stormed over. "Gruffnut! What are you doing out here? I told you to go clean the backroom! And who is this? Whoever she is, get rid of her until you're shift is done!"

"I think there's been a mistake," Ruffnut said loudly, "We're Gruffnut's cousins, Ruffnut and Tuffnut."

The man's rough and bearish manner at once vanished. "Good evening, my friends! My sincerest apologies! Well if you're looking for a place to stay, look no further than Nifty Norton's Tavern of Happiness, where every day is a feast day and every night is a ton of fun! Nowhere north of Norway will you find a nicer nest or nourishment!" He grinned at them. "Of course, we will expect a slight compensation for such niceness. It's only fair, after all!"

"We'd like to see our cousin first," Tuffnut said.

"Of course, sir, of course. GRUFFNUT!" he roared, "GIT YOUR SORRY BUTT OUT HERE!"

Gruffnut Thorsten emerged and nearly dropped the tray he was carrying. "Tuff! Ruff! What are you two doing here?"

"Hi Gruff!" the male Twin said happily, "Sorry to come like this, but we need your help,"

"My help? Well, err…this is not really the best time, coz, but…" Gruffnut looked around nervously.

"But we need your help, coz!" Tuffnut said earnestly, "Berk's just fallen to Dragon Hunters and we need somebody who can help us take it back! We've spent days flying here to ask you to get us to see some of those big connections you've got!"

"Where _are_ these big connections of yours, anyway?" Ruffnut asked scornfully, "I sure hope they don't live in a place like _this_."

Gruffnut suddenly looked interested. "You say you flew here? Where's your dragon?"

"Somewhere safe," Ruffnut said firmly.

Their cousin now looked like his usual self. "Well, just come with me! We'll have some dinner and talk this over!"

"Now hold on a minute!" Nifty Norton exclaimed, "You've still got work to do! Nobody slacks off in my tavern! Excuse me, my friends, but your cousin is very busy. But he'll be free in a little bit. Meantime, please enjoy the comforts of my happy tavern." He said as he pulled Gruffnut through the doors that led to the backroom. They could hear Gruffnut saying "But Norton—I can pay you back this—!"

Few playing the dice games had paid the slightest attention to the Thorstens. They were all engrossed in their games, their winnings, and their drinks. The Twins moved to a corner and waited.

"I don't like this," Ruffnut muttered to her brother. "Everything about this place just feels wrong."

"I'm not too impressed either," Tuffnut admitted, "But now that we're here, we might as well put up with it. All we need is for Gruffnut to get us in touch with someone rich and powerful, someone who can give us military support, than we go after Viggo and make him release everybody. We'll be out of here in no time!"

This was not all that bad of a plan, but it depended entirely upon Gruffnut's help and it was some time before he came out to discuss that. When he did come out he ushered them to a table in a corner.

"So what's going on? Tell me everything."

They, or more correctly Tuffnut, filled him in on all that had happened ever since they had last seen him, as well as they could. Gruffnut listened with rapt attention, his eyes widening as he smelled opportunities.

"So you see why we need help," Tuffnut concluded. "Gruffnut, we've gotta do something! If we can't save Berk, we'll have to go live somewhere else, somewhere where explosions aren't allowed, where they eat chickens, and where there'll be no Loki Discipleship! And then we'll have to go to _work_! We need your help!"

Gruffnut bristled at the word 'work', but said genially, "And you shall have it, my cousin," and patted Tuffnut on the back like a father reassuring a son, "I'll send messages out at once. Unfortunately, it might take a while. We don't use Terrible Terrors for mail around here. You'll have to stay here in the meantime."

"What?" Ruffnut exclaimed.

"It's the only way,"

"You could just come with us right now and we can fly wherever you want," she hinted.

Gruffnut looked surprised at her words. "Why that's—and so we shall! Yes, we shall do that—except for one thing. We should warn them that we're coming first. I'm a pretty important man to all my friends, but they hate getting unexpected visits, you know. Doesn't everyone? So here's what I suggest. You guys can hang out here for a week—all right, five days—and then we'll all go off together. Now, I'd say ya couldn't get a handsomer deal than that!"

"But what are we supposed to do for five days?" Tuffnut asked.

"You could help me clean the tables," their cousin hinted.

"Is that your job?" Ruffnut asked pointedly.

"For the moment. See, Nifty Norton is a really nice guy and he's shorthanded, so I offered to help him out until he gets some new faces. And my jousting wound needs to recover." He began massaging his leg.

Ruffnut snorted. "Clearing tables helps an injured leg?"

"Yes, as a matter of fact."

"So where can we stay?" Tuffnut asked, "and what about Chicken and Barf n' Belch? They're probably freezing cold!"

"Well, I'll see if I can persuade Norton to put the dragon in the stables."

That proved to be no problem. The stables, it turned out, were seldom used to house horses, or anything else for that matter. Even getting their dragon safely to the stables proved to be easy. To their surprise, nobody seemed concerned about having a dragon in the vicinity.

Gruffnut reassured them about this oddity. "Clearly Hiccup's ideas of living with dragons are reaching further than he ever imagined! This place used to indulge in the dragon trade, but I assure you both, those days are all but over. I might have had something to do with it myself, by the way. So the sight of a dragon won't displease anyone here in the slightest."

"Good!" Tuffnut said happily. Ruffnut was not reassured. In her opinion, the people who had seen the Zippleback gazed at him as cats gaze at the mice they are stalking. So she decided to sleep in the stables with their dragon. She supposed they would be just as comfortable as any other place in this port. This actually worked for the better, as Gruffnut's room could not fit 3 people easily and they would not have to pay for a room of their own. Norton was being very nice and generous to them, which was good because they had little money to spare. Gruffnut assured them he had enough if needed, and encouraged them to join in the dice games if they needed more.

"In fact, I think I'll go play a few rounds myself," he said to them, "All right, so Tuff, my room's up the stairs, third door on the left. I'd say please don't touch anything, but there's nothing really to touch." He looked a little glum for a moment. "All the same, please don't touch anything!"

Gruffnut's room was little more than a large closet. It would suffice for two people to sleep in, but that was about it. From the tiny window Tuffnut could see the tops of the stables directly in front and below. There was nothing else worth seeing. The rest of the view was decaying structures covered in dirty snow.

Downstairs Gruffnut only managed to place one bet before Norton dragged him away from the table. "But I finished my shift!"

"I know that, but I'm not having you rack up any more debts in my place! How do you think it looks when my own hired hands can't pay me back?"

"Ouch! Stop pulling on me or you'll reopen my jousting wound!" He clutched his leg as if it pained him.

"Jousting wound my pants. You're no more wounded than the sun is. Now, are you _sure_ sending this message will land me a fortune?"

Gruffnut smiled winningly. "Of course I'm sure. Ruff and Tuff are friends of Hiccup the Useless. Hiccup the Useless has a price on his head. So anyone who's willing to pay for that will also be willing to pay for those two and the dragon."

"You'd better be right about this." Norton growled.

"Relax, old man, you'll get your reward and my debts will be repaid with interest."

"And it doesn't bother you that you're selling out your own kindred?"

Gruffnut waved a hand dismissively, "Oh I'm sure their capture will only be temporary. They'll probably escape with ease later."

"Well, that's your affair, not mine," Norton replied, "All right, I'll play this game. But I'm warning you, Gruffnut: if this doesn't work out, I'm throwing you in prison for the rest of yer sorry life."

"It'll work, it'll work. Don't worry. We just have to keep them here and unsuspecting until the time comes."

"You just leave that to me," Norton grinned nastily.

"Right. Well, have fun with that. I'm going to just go to bed and perhaps watch the—"

Norton grabbed him again. "Oh no you don't! You aren't going anywhere near those tables while you owe me money!"

"Oh my jousting wound!"

On Bog Burglar Island, and completely unaware of what was going on with the Twins, or any other Berkian for that matter, Fishlegs sat nervously in front of Big Boobied Bertha, waiting anxiously for her decision. Camicazi was sitting next to her mother, also looking anxious. Aside from two women standing guard at the door and a third patrolling the hall's perimeter they were alone.

Bertha shook her head. "I'm sorry, Fishlegs, but at the moment I just cannot see how I can help you."

Fishlegs had been preparing for the worst, but he was still disappointed, though he tried to keep his chin up. Camicazi, however, let out a loud groan of exasperation. "Come on, mother, we can take 'em!"

"Camicazi, if I make a move against Viggo right now, what's to stop him from doing to us what he just did to Berk?" her mother demanded.

"We'll fight 'em off! Have everyone wear dragon nip or something! There's gotta be a way! We can't just sit around doing nothing—and don't you dare even think about siding with that man!"

"I'm wondering right now who's the Chief here, you or I," Bertha retorted. "Fishlegs, I am very sorry, but I cannot help you right now, though you're entitled to know why. You know Stoick always says… _said_ , 'A Chief protects his own.' In this case I need to protect my own first."

"But you were willing to join us against Drago last year!" Fishlegs interrupted.

"Yes, and we lost many warriors in that battle who have yet to be replaced."

"You have dragons now!"

"Our dragons against men who've spent their lives hunting them? That hardly evens the odds, I think. Besides, what do you want me to do? What plan do you have for dealing with Viggo Grimborn?"

"Well—I—normally Hiccup or Astrid would come up with this, but—well, I want to save my family and friends!"

"Who else is on your side?"

"Nobody. I came to you first."

"From what I have heard, several tribes, including the Meatheads, have joined with Viggo—no doubt hoping to cash in on his success and avoid the fate Berk has suffered. Others, like the Owl Guts and us, are saying neither 'yes' nor 'no' to Grimborn. We're waiting."

"For what?" her daughter demanded. "What are we waiting for?"

"We are waiting to see what will happen when this shock wears off." Bertha retorted, "Now listen, you two: Berk fell within minutes. I will not risk the same fate happening to us, and it will happen if I stand alone against Grimborn. He's gaining strength and we aren't. We are no match for him without help. No tribe is at this rate. I must play for time and discover who else will side against him." She shook her head again. "Fishlegs, the sad truth is that you have nothing to offer anyone. Your story is sympathetic, but you have no riches to offer, you cannot offer protection or aid, and you have no one else on your side that can. Now for me, I care not about Berk giving rewards for our aid, but other tribes will. So…" she stood up, "Come back when you have a plan and the people who can put into action. Until then, I'm sorry, but I must look after my own island first."

"Yes ma'am," Fishlegs said miserably.

"You probably should leave as soon as possible. If Viggo learns I've let you come here it might go badly, and I'm sure you have things to do." She placed a hand on his shoulder before leaving, but it was not much comfort to Fishlegs.

Camicazi at once leaned closer. "Have you heard anything from Hiccup?"

"Not a word,"

"I imagine a lot of tribes are waiting for him to give a signal. They would rally around him if they had the chance. If you somehow find him or Astrid, I know I could convince my mother to join you."

Fishlegs sighed helplessly. "So nobody here will help unless I find Hiccup or another ally?"

"I guess so," Cami said bitterly. "You might persuade Gort and one or two others, but I think most Viking Chiefs would just laugh at you."

"But this can't be a lost cause already! We can't just give up now! Who's gonna help us if Vikings won't?" He suddenly slapped himself in the head. "Of course! King Sweyn of Denmark! We did him a favor last year; he owes us! And Viggo can't possibly take over an entire country with a nest of Speed Stingers! Yes, I go to Sweyn and the other Kingdoms nearby! They've got big armies and the money, they can deal with him! I'll do better this time; I'll get the help we need!" He was so happy he kissed Camicazi on the cheek without realizing it and ran out the door.

For once in her life Camicazi had been surprised by someone. Then she shook her head. "Nah, he's not really my type."

Meatlug was talking to Midnight, Camicazi's Snow Demon and their friend Persephone. While they had not spent much time on Berk, they had been close friends of Hiccup's and were horrified by what they were hearing.

" **They took it over with just a nest of Speed Stingers**?"

" **So it seems**." Meatlug said bitterly.

" **Now why did we not try that against Drago**?" Persephone had to wonder.

" **Where are they taking everybody? Wherever it is, we'll fly out and save them**!" Midnight was always ready to take action. But at this point Fishlegs reached them.

" **Meatlug, we've gotta go! We're making for Denmark**!"

" **Denmark! What's that going to do for us**?"

" **Is that where this Grimborn man is hiding?"** Persephone asked.

" **Is that where we're going to fight him**?" said Midnight. " **Let's get going then**!"

" **No**." Fishlegs said, " **Grimborn's got a castle on the coast of Norway. We know that much at least. It was Hiccup's idea, but he had me carry it out**." He was rather proud of the fact. " **But Bertha's not going to help us unless we've got more muscle on our side so, Meatlug, we're going to Denmark to get that muscle**."

Midnight and Persephone were rather disappointed there would not be a fight yet, but Fishlegs assured them that would be coming sooner or later.

Midnight said grimly, " **We'll be ready**."

Viggo Grimborn sat on his chair looking through a ledger. Eret stood in front of him, impatiently waiting to be told what Viggo wanted, yet too nervous around the man to press him. The weather was rough and the ship rocked badly, but Viggo did not seem to notice.

Finally Viggo set down his reading and looked at the hunter. "I've been going over the inventory, and I have found something unusual. Several key Dragon Riders are not included in it. Would you care to explain this?"

Eret shrugged. "I don't know. They probably weren't at Berk when you captured it." He could have said 'when we captured it' but he refused to associate himself with the sack of Berk.

"Quite so," Viggo replied, "Unfortunately, that could mean trouble for us later. These free Dragon Riders will go around and ask for help. If enough people join them, it might be problematic for us all."

Eret inclined his head.

"Where the boy Fishlegs Ingerman has gone I have yet to decide. Astrid Haddock I know went with Hiccup. His cousin Snotlout I have no news on ever since Heather and Hognose went after him. I trust they will bring him back, possibly with the Haddocks and their dragons."

"And the Dragon King's mother escaped," Eret added.

"Yes, but she will return, I do not doubt. That just leaves the Thorsten Twins. Now, I feel assured the Thorsten Twins and their Zippleback will have gone to their cousin."

"What makes you think so?"

"When danger strikes, it is typical for people to go where they feel safe and find people they feel they can trust it—namely, family members and close friends. Since Gruffnut Thorsten is their only family member in these parts who remains free, and I have learned from Hognose that the Thorsten male idolizes him, surely it is not unreasonable to suppose they have gone to him for protection?"

Eret agreed it was a possibility.

"A possibility I want confirmed. We have two ships without cargo in this fleet. You and a group of hunters will take one and sail to—" he checked a map and gave a name. "Find these Thorsten Twins and their Zippleback and take them. If it turns out they are not there, take Gruffnut Thorsten as a hostage. I can tell you have a question."

"Wouldn't it be more likely they've all taken refuge in the same place? That Ingerman and the Haddocks and Thorstens are all together?"

"If we had struck while they were all together, certainly. But they were not. The Haddocks had left some time before, and I know Ingerman and the Thorstens went in different directions to search for Snotlout. Mildew told me while he was still alive. They were all scattered when we took Berk. When we struck I imagine the fugitives became disorganized and confused, and went wherever they deemed best."

"Unless they have an emergency place to meet at," Eret observed, wondering why he was bothering to tell Viggo any of this at all, "there was that island called the Sanctuary, after all,"

"That was destroyed." Viggo replied shortly, "You may leave now." He did not wish to reveal to Eret that if the Riders had a place for emergencies it was unknown to him, nor did he know the location of the Sanctuary. Ever since that island had been destroyed and abandoned, nobody had bothered to search for it anymore. It occurred to him that Adoncia had known the location, but she had never told him, for reasons he had never learned.

"Oh it does not matter," He assured himself after Eret had left, "I am confident there is no such place for emergencies and that the escaped Riders are in a chaotic, isolated, and disorderly state."

Several days later Viggo received Gruffnut Thorsten's letter, which confirmed his suspicions and greatly pleased him. Since Eret had sailed prior to the letter's arrival, he would probably capture the Thorstens and their dragon within a day or two. Of course, he had no intention of paying anybody for this.

To pass the time the Twins helped Gruffnut with his work in the tavern. Neither of them like it, but Gruffnut insisted that since he was being so considerate to them they ought to pitch in and help him in his time of difficulty, especially as his jousting wound made it harder for him to do physical labor.

"Jousting wound my foot," Ruffnut muttered as she turned in for the night, some five days after arriving, "if he's got a jousting wound I'm a rooster."

Chicken eyed her curiously.

Ruffnut went on, "I just can't understand what that dummy of a brother of mine sees in him!" She sat down next to their Zippleback and started praying to Loki. It had not been her custom to do this nightly, but these days she figured it could not hurt.

After finishing work, Gruffnut went to the docks because Norton would not let him near the gambling tables any more. He sat on a barrel watching the traffic, and eventually a man came up to him.

"You Gruffnut Thorsten?"

"Yeah?"

"I was sent by a mutual friend named Viggo Grimborn."

Gruffnut at once looked attentive. "Already? Well, that's just fine! Right, well, let's talk about our terms and prices—"

The man pointed a knife at Gruffnut's throat. "The price is this: we get your cousins and their dragons, you get a bag of gold. Deal? Good. Now take us to them. And if there are any tricks, we're holding you responsible. Got it? Right." He called over his shoulder, "Eret! We've got a lead!"

Eret nodded. "Let's get on with it." He and a dozen men joined them. "Now look, we want to do this quickly and painlessly. Don't forget, they've got a dragon. We'll capture one and use them as a hostage to make the rest surrender, or we got it?" He pointed to Gruffnut, "you, who's gonna be the easier one to capture?"

"Tuffnut's in my room and he'll be alone." Gruffnut said, resentful they were talking to him so rudely. "But just to warn you, it's a very small room."

Eret shrugged. "Then I'll go in myself, while the rest of you block the exits."

Up in his room, Tuff was trying on some of Gruffnut's clothes. He thought it would be a great prank if the two of them wore the same outfits and confuse everybody. And when he had the clothes on and fixed up his hair a little, he did indeed look like the spitting image of Gruffnut.

"Oh, Ruff is gonna love this!" he grinned.

At that instant the door flew opened and Eret, Son of Eret came charging towards him. Tuffnut shrieked and leapt onto the bed. Eret grabbed his leg. Tuff kicked him in the face with his free leg. Eret inadvertently released him and Tuff flopped onto the floor. He was up in an instant.

"How'd you find me?" he demanded, trying to play for time. He jumped for the door but Eret blocked it.

"Your cousin told us about you." Eret said dully, looking for an opening.

"What?"

"Your family doesn't have much loyalty."

"That's a lie!" Tuffnut yelled, "You're trying to get me to turn against him!" Eret reached for him, but Tuffnut ducked out of the way. Eret tried again and grabbed his wrist, so Tuffnut bit him in the arm.

"Lots of muscle," he commented as Eret inspected the bite.

"Why you little—what are you, some kind of cannibal?" Eret yelled in disgust.

"Can a cannibal can a bull like a canner cans a can?" Tuffnut grinned. Eret punched him in the nose and Tuff went down on the floor. It seems he wanted that to happen, because he grabbed his mace from under the bed, leapt to his feet, and slammed it into Eret's head.

"Didn't see that one coming did ya?" Tuffnut grinned. "LOKIED!" He grabbed Eret by the shoulders, steered him towards the window and pushed as hard as he could. Eret went right through the glass and landed on the stable roof. And because the roof was so rotten he went right through that too and flopped into a pile of old hay in the stables. He looked up to see Ruffnut's delighted face. His pulse quickened and his face fell.

"Oh no,"

"My prayers have been answered!" she cheered. "Oh, hold me, humungous hunter of my heart! Ignite the ends of my hair!" she tried to climb onto him and kiss him while he tried to get away from her. "Don't deny that this is meant to be! Take me to Valhalla! Touch my lips and I am yours for eternity!" He pushed her mouth away and tried to crawl through the hay, with her reaching for his legs. "I meant touch them with your own lips, not your hand! Oh, but what does it matter? Soon we shall be locked together forever in—"

He picked her up and threw her into a haystack.

"Oh, you are so strong! I've always longed strongly for a strong man! It's clear we are meant to—hey, where are you going?"

Eret had given her the slip and was fleeing for the door. He would happily fight a Red Death rather than deal with a besotted Ruffnut Thorsten.

"Come back, future father of my children!" She threw some hay at Barf n' Belch and Chicken. "Why didn't you muttonheads do anything to stop him?"

They just looked at her, amusement in their eyes.

"Oh, think this is funny do you? Well if I don't get my Eret back right now, I'll show you just how funny—and I honestly can't think of what to threaten you with, so let's just get going! We've got a man to catch!"

Meanwhile, Gruffnut had rushed upstairs when he had heard the crashes, only to run into Tuffnut running downstairs.

"Where's Eret?"

"I hit him in the head with my mace and threw him out the—wait a minute!" Tuffnut looked like _he_ had taken a mace to the head. " _What_ did you just say?"

Gruffnut froze. Nobody there would have asked about Eret unless they had been in on this. "Oh, my jousting wound," he said feebly.

Tuffnut roared and rammed into his cousin. They both tumbled down the staircase and landed in a heap in front of the hunters, Norton, and some amused guests.

"Fight, fight, fight!" the guests cheered.

"Get him!" one hunter shouted. But the others paused.

"Which one's Tuffnut?" Indeed, both Thorsten males looked identical to them.

"He's the one you want!" One of the Thorsten men shouted, "He's Tuffnut!"

"Am not! He's Tuffnut! Only Tuffnut has that mole on his ear!"

"No he doesn't! I'm Gruffnut!"

"No I'm Gruffnut!"

"I'm Gruffnut! Guys, I was telling you about how small my room was, remember!"

"No, I was telling them that! You liar, you were obviously eavesdropping on us!"

"He's got a point," one hunter remarked.

"He's the one you want! I'll prove it to you! Look, an explosion!"

The other Thorsten did not move. "Big deal."

His accuser froze. The hunters were looking at him suspiciously. "Well…obviously the real Tuffnut is smart enough not to fall for something like that."

The other one suddenly pointed, "Look, a bag of gold!"

Literally everyone else in the room turned their heads and cried "Where?"

The Thorsten male who had spoken look incredulous. "Seriously?"

"Look, guys, I swear, he's the real Tuffnut, not me!"

"Ah shut up, we'll take 'em both!" one hunter announced. "Where's Eret?"

As if on cue Eret burst into the tavern. "She's after me! Quick! Hey—after him!" For the true Tuffnut had used the distraction to dash into the back room. There was a dirty window in the back and he flung it opened and shouted "Hey, Ruff! Over here!"

Instead of going through the door the Zippleback went right through the rotting wall. Unbidden, Barf curiously examined a barrel of ale, then picked it up in his teeth and playfully threw it at the door, causing it to break. Belch followed his example and they began throwing barrels at the doorway, making a great big puddle of ale and an even bigger pile of splintered wood, which the hunters where trying to remove while the tavern customers were trying to save the spilled ale by any means possible.

Tuffnut spotted a pair of crossbows lying around, probably for protection against thieves and drunkards, and he seized them and fired one as a warning shot. "I warn you, I've got two crossbows here!" He looked down at his weapons. "I know one isn't loaded now…but the other is! And I've still got a Chicken over here, so be nice and I'll kill you quickly! Or at least one of you…or maybe…you know what, sister, let's just go!"

"Ah, but first, brother of mine, we must catch Eret and then make a spectacular exit! And not necessarily in that order!" Ruffnut grinned. She pulled a firework from her bag.

"Where'd you get that?"

"Hiccup's wedding. We didn't shoot off all of them. I saved this one so I could study it and figure out how we could make our own."

"Oh, that would be so cool!"

"Sadly, alas, we'll have to use it here and beg Hiccup for some more. Say, maybe when Eret and I get married he'll let you shoot some off!"

"Whoa, whoa, who said anything—oh never mind! Shoot it off and let's go!" he made to get on his side of the Zippleback but Ruffnut pushed him down. "OW! What was that for?"

Ruffnut's grin turned diabolical. "Say it!"

"Oh come on!"

"C'mon, say it!"

He scowled at her. "Fine. You were right and I was wrong. Happy?"

"Good boy. Now, care to do the honors?"

"Sure, not-so-awesome sister of mine." He climbed onto Belch and held the firework close to the dragon's mouth. Belch clicked his jaws and a spark hit the fuse. As it did so the hunters had cleared enough space for them to climb over the barrel remains.

"What is _that_ thing?" one of them yelled. "Looks like a tube with a—"

That was when the firework went off. It slammed into the opposite wall and exploded with so much force the whole building shook. And then some sparks fell into the ale puddle and flames almost literally leapt off the floor.

"Whoohoohoo!" the Twins cheered. "LOKIED!" And Chicken clucked loudly.

"Now let's get going!" Tuffnut yelled. But instead of flying away, Ruffnut directed her half to head towards the hunters.

"Ruff, what are you doing?"

"Getting my knight in not-so-shining armor!"

"Getting your—you have gotta be kidding me!"

"Nope! Get him, Barf!"

Eret had already entered the room when the explosion had occurred, and that had thrown him into a group of barrels. In his dazed state he hardly noticed the Zippleback pick him up in his mouth, blast a hole through the roof, and carry him away.

"So what about Gruffnut?" Ruffnut asked once they were airborn.

Tuffnut swallowed and said hoarsely, "He sold us out. He betrayed us—he betrayed _me_ , his own cousin: the guy who worshiped him when nobody else did! He…he has no place with us now."

Ruffnut hesitantly put a hand on his shoulder. It felt so weird to both of them she quickly removed it.

"So, to the Bog Burglars?" Tuffnut asked, trying to sound casual. His sister nodded. Chicken hopped onto Eret's head and started examining his hair, debating if it was a good spot for roosting.

Gruffnut would have pleaded for their forgiveness. He would have begged them to take him with them rather than stand amidst the wreck of the tavern's storage room and face a very shaken but enraged employer.

"So…" Nifty Norton said, deliberately keeping his voice soft, like the calm before the hurricane. He looked more dangerous than a Screaming Death.

Gruffnut grinned sheepishly. "I'm….Tuffnut actually? Yeah, my sister grabbed the wrong person! See, I'm Tuffnut! I like Chickens!" The dumbest person alive would not have believed the bluff.

Norton advanced, probably intending to club him into next week. Gruffnut began spouting anything that might calm him down. "But it wasn't my fault! Those hunter morons messed it up! Hey, we can still make a deal! Look, they wrecked the place; they should be the ones to fix it up!" Norton grabbed him by the neck and started throttling him while shouting a string of profanities loudly enough to wake the dead. "Help! Oh my jousting wound hurts! But at least you've still got part of a roof and some walls, right?"

At that moment one of the walls fell down. It had been inevitable for over a decade. And once that happened, the rest of the roof collapsed, causing the remaining walls to fall over. Norton was so stunned he inadvertently let go of Gruffnut.

"The Governor's _never_ gonna believe this..."


	31. Chapter 31

**I Own Nothing**

 **All Rights Reserved**

 **Chapter 31**

 **Radamar**

Toothless wanted to visit Hiccup first thing that morning, but Menomem dismissively told him he was better off spending time with his fellows and equals. Sensing that ignoring her might put Hiccup in danger, he accepted Radamar's offer to show him around the caverns.

" **Hiccup can handle himself** ," he kept thinking. " **He can handle himself**."

The tunnels for the most part were long, dark, and mostly featureless, so there were few things worth looking at. Toothless eyed his tail self-consciously. When the Riders had split up Hiccup had put the black tail fin on him, the one that allowed him to fly by himself. Toothless never liked wearing that one, but he knew it was sensible to use it sometimes, and now he was grateful. Because the fin was black, none of the other dragons had paid the slightest attention to it or suspected anything out of the ordinary about it. It would have meant some potentially dangerous explanations if the other dragons found out he was missing a tail fin and how it had happened. He wondered how long he could keep it a secret.

" **So what's the outside world like**?" Radamar suddenly asked him.

Toothless was so deep in thought he hardly registered what she said. " **What**?"

" **What's the outside world really like? I've never seen any of it**."

" **Don't they let you go flying here**?" he asked sharply.

" **Oh yes…on certain nights when the white stone is at its most minimal. And even then, we aren't allowed to go too far, and only a few of us are allowed out at a time. The rest of the time, we fly around the Cavern for exercise. It's large enough, though we mostly just make laps**."

" **That feels wrong** ," Toothless said, " **Dragons should be free to go where they wish and can, not live like moles in caves forever**." Great fish and eels, he sounded like Queen Mala!

" **Is that what you do? Go where you wish and can**?"

" **It** _ **was**_ **, anyway** ," Toothless muttered darkly, " **I'm not exactly sure what's going to happen now that I'm here** ,"

" **So what is the outside world really like**?" she asked a third time, and just as eagerly as before.

" **It's…well, it's pretty big**." he said. It was hard to summarize the whole world in a single sentence. " **I've only seen some of it**."

" **How much**?"

" **More than I can keep track of. I've seen deserts, glaciers, mountains, fields, forests, oceans, jungles** …"

" **What are those**?"

" **Do you just use different words for them or do you honestly not know? A jungle is…well, there are a lot of trees, and vines, and it's usually pretty hot and humid, the insects are huge** …"

She shook her head. " **It doesn't sound familiar to me**."

" **But there's a jungle just a few islands away**!" Toothless exclaimed, " **You've never even seen** _ **that**_?"

She shook her head again. " **Like I said, we aren't allowed to go far** ,"

" **Says who? Your brother**?"

" **My what**?"

" **The Alpha—sorry, I mean the Alepha** ,"

" **You don't know the words the Notoraquin use? The words of your own species**?"

Toothless shook his head. " **I've never seen one until yesterday**."

" **Well, Salistus is my Vav, and the Alepha. Menomem is our hoah**."

" **And you're his plorip**?" Toothless tried his hand at using the language.

She laughed. " **No, no, you said it wrong. Menomem would say 'plorip,' but Salistus would say it as 'plorip'."** With the first version her tone rose as she spoke, but with the second version it fell. The same word was used for daughter and sister, but the sound was different depending on the usage.

" **But as I was saying, who says we can't fly where we want**?" Toothless demanded.

" **It was the law long before Salistus became Alepha** ," she said. She looked down the tunnel. " **The First Dragon created us, back when time was new, and decreed that we, the Notoraquin, would rule all dragons with one of us as the Alepha. Over time others took the position from us, but we took it back. But the umanu grew stronger and wanted more of everything. At first they feared us, but soon came to realize that they could use us for their own gain, especially the Alepha**."

" **Whoever controls the Alpha controls them all** ," Toothless muttered darkly.

She eyed him curiously. " **Who said that**?"

" **A monster who once tried to do just that**."

" **He was right, except we say Alepha, not—well, anyway, the umanu wanted to control us. The Alepha of his time tried to resist, but after one too many attempts to capture him, he saw that hiding was the only way we would be safe. So he summoned all the Notoraquin to join him here in secret and we have stayed here ever since. And to ensure we survived, strict precautions and rules have been made** ,"

" **So he decided that instead of facing the trouble everyone would just hide from it**?" Toothless exclaimed in disgust.

" **You don't understand. The Alepha was betrayed by the umanu! He wanted peace with them, but they kept coming for him and killing our kind! What choice did he have if we were to survive?"**

Toothless mellowed a little. " **All right. Perhaps at the time it was the best decision. Perhaps at the time there was no other choice. But that doesn't mean that we have to live so secretly now! Things have changed**!"

" **Have they**?"

" **Yes! On Ber—I mean, I've seen places where humans and dragons are living together, side by side, looking after each other, and forming bonds as strong as any creature can possibly have**."

" **Are you sure they are not just enslaved**?" she asked skeptically.

" **Of course I'm sure! I've lived in some of these places! And so has Hiccup! Isn't the fact that I let him ride me proof enough that not all humans are out to kill us? And we've been taking down those who are**!

She still looked skeptical.

" **Look, a few years ago we lived in as much fear and secrecy as you do. But we found a chance and took it, and now we live in the open and in harmony! And we're converting others to live in the same way. Sure, we've hit a few rough spots, but we're still succeeding! Once a particular group of hunters is finished off, nobody in Europe is going to stand against dragons and humans living together, and such lifestyles already exist in much of Asia**."

She still looked skeptical.

" **All right, if you don't believe me, I'll show you. I'll show all of you. We can leave right now**." Hiccup had used this method on humans with good results, so he thought using it on dragons would surely work too.

She looked half inclined to accept the offer, but pulled back. " **I would need permission from Salistus. And I'm sure he would refuse, especially if Agaruba was there. Agaruba hates the umanu. He flew out too far when he was younger and got attacked by some. He still resents the scars they gave him**."

" **I'm guessing the scars to his pride were more painful than the ones to his skin** ,"

She shrugged. " **I would not know. But I do know he would gladly kill your umanu—Hiccup, was it? A strange name**."

" **He hates it, actually**."

" **Then why keep it**?"

Toothless considered the answer. " **At first he kept it because everyone else used it and he had no choice. Later, he abandoned it but never came up with another. And now, once again, everyone else uses it so he's kinda stuck with it. Rather like how your Vav tried to stick me with the name 'Emaracluse',"** he added with a grimace.

" **You don't like it**?" she asked in surprise.

" **It's not my name. Like you just said, if I hate it why keep it**?"

" **The Alepha said you should**!"

" **And the Alepha is always right**?" Toothless asked.

She looked at him in amazement.

" **What? Are we not allowed to think for ourselves too**?"

She looked very uncomfortable. " **It's allowed, but…not encouraged where the Alepha is concerned. Their word is our command, as you know. Except for the First Law. Even the Alepha would not dare go against tha** t."

" **What's the First Law? I've been wondering about that**."

" **No Notoraquin may kill another. Anyone who breaks that law must die**."

" **Well that's comforting to know**."

" **Yes. The First Dragon gave us that law, and we must keep to it to ensure our numbers will grow**."

Toothless looked surprised. " **Have they? How many are there now**?"

" **With you now among us, 17**." She spoke as if this was a good thing.

Toothless was aghast at this. " **So few**?"

" **The Notoraquin only produce at most two eggs at one time. And when they do, they do not produce again until another tenth of life has passed first. Ah, here we are. This is the Cavern**."

The Cavern was just a large room. Certainly it was very longer, wider, and higher than anything adjoining it, but aside from the size there was little to distinguish it from any other room in this series of caves. Having lived at the Sanctuary, which had had smaller but much more appealing chambers, Toothless was not very impressed.

" **Still** ," he reminded himself, " **we had Whispering Deaths to dig for us and Hiccup's artistic sense. These dragons didn't. I shouldn't expect them to create a palace. All the same, say what you will about humans, but they sure know how to build,** "

Radamar looked at him expectedly. " **So? What do you think of it**?"

Toothless gave a nonchalant answer and asked what they ate here. Radamar pointed to the bottom of the Cavern, which turned out to be completely flooded.

" **This connects to the outside** ," she explained, " **fish often end up in here, and we take what we can get**."

" **Do you catch enough**?" His own appetite was considerable, and he could not imagine there would ever be enough fish in a lake for 16 Night Furies.

" **We do** ," she replied.

He soon found out that 'enough' by their standards was considerably less than his own. After catching two decent sized fish he was told to stop, but he was still hungry. He noticed out of all of them, Salistus the Alpha ate the most.

" **Emaracluse, where's my new armor? I want it!"**

Toothless suggested he ought to speak to Hiccup about that, and added that, while Hiccup was a genius with invention, even he could not build a full suit of armor overnight even if he had all the materials.

" **Where is the umanu**?" the Alpha demanded impatiently, " **Radamar, do you know? Go and bring him here**!"

Radamar nodded quickly and hurried off. She had expected to find the umanu sleeping, but he was wide awake and looking at something. Next to him was a stick of wax with a tongue of flame on the top.

" **What is this**?" she asked, forgetting her orders, which did not have a time requirement anyway.

" **I'm just looking at one of my journals** ," he replied.

" **What's a journal? And what is this thing holding the fire**?" she looked at the candle in amazement.

" **It's molded wax with a wick. We humans can't make breathe fire, so we had to look for other methods, like candles and flints. And a journal is what I write and draw in**."

" **Write**?"

Hiccup showed her some of the pages. She could make nothing of the writing, but the sketches fascinated her. " **What's this**?"

" **It's a seagull. I saw it on a beach a week ago. Haven't you seen seagulls before**?"

She shook her head and looked at another page. " **And what's this? Another umanu, I can tell, but they look…different from you** ,"

" **That's Astrid. She's my mate**." He strongly disliked using that term to describe Astrid, because it sounded crude to him, but he guessed she would understand it better than 'wife'.

" **You never said you had a mate**!"

" **Nobody asked**." He had been expecting that one, and Radamar was taken aback.

" **I suppose that's true. What's that stuff coming out of her head**?"

" **Hair** ," he pointed to his own head.

" **What's it for? And why is hers longer than yours**?"

Hiccup shrugged. " **It helps keep our heads warm. And I get mine cut more frequently than she does**." He smiled slightly, " **When I was a boy some other kids tried to shave my head while I was sleeping. My kalk, as you'd call him, was furious and for a change he didn't have anything to blame me for**."

" **Did he blame you for lots of things**?"

Hiccup snorted and put on his best impression of Stoick. "' **Every time you step outside disaster falls.' His own words. But in his defense, they were true to an extent**."

" **My hoah would say 'every time you step outside disaster falls upon you** ,'" Radamar said, " **she acts like everything outside these caves is diseased**."

" **Do you agree with her**?"

" **I don't know, because I hardly know anything about what's out there! But Salistus agrees with her and he can forbid me to go out if he wants to. Oh! I forgot! Salistus wants to see you about his armor**!"

"I sure hope he's in a good mood," Hiccup groaned as he followed her. Like Toothless he was underwhelmed by the Cavern when he saw it, but he was focusing more on what to say to Salistus.

Toothless nervously watched him approach the Alpha. Agaruba was standing close at hand, while Menomen at once moved in between Hiccup and Radamar.

" **Well? Where's my armor**?" demanded the Alpha.

" **Like every umanu, this one proved treacherous and has failed to deliver on its promise** ," Agaruba sneered.

Hiccup smiled. " **You make the armor then. Have fun! Look, my Alepha, I don't have any armor for you, and unless I have the proper tools I can't hope to make it**."

" **And you want to go fetch these tools and bring back an army to wipe us out! Is that it**?" shouted Agaruba.

" **Well that's not going to happen**!" Hiccup laughed, " **We're on an island! How am I supposed to get off it? And even if I did somehow escape these caves, how far do you think I'd get before one of you caught up**?" He was still working on a solution to these problems.

The Alpha laughed too. " **He's right, Agaruba! He can't possibly escape from us! So what do you need to make my amazing armor**?"

Toothless was very relieved to see the Alpha was in a good mood and taking Hiccup's side. But the mention of Hiccup trying to escape made him very uneasy, and it was not made any better by what the Alpha said next.

" **What have we to worry about anyway? He'll die sooner or later, and it's not as though Emaracluse is going anywhere! I can stop him, remember?"**

Toothless looked up at the cave ceiling. He had known this ever since they had come but now it seemed to really sink in. They were prisoners here, and their only liberty was the freedom to pace about their cell.

" **You know, Toothless is a Beta, right**?" Hiccup said carefully, " **He has a nest of his own that needs to be looked after** ,"

" **Unless this nest includes Notoraquin, it is of no concern to us. Our concern is our own kind, first and foremost**." Menomem said.

Toothless groaned. Lying would do them no good here because they had already made it known that they had never seen another Night Fury before.

He realized another dragon was behind him and tried to cover up the groan with a cough.

" **Something in your throat**?"

" **Nothing serious** ,"

" **I do not believe I introduced myself, but I am Sclepus. I was just wondering if I could ask you something**."

Toothless was hardly in the mood for questions but gave his consent.

" **You see, Emaracluse, you've been where no one else has. Have you seen any more of our species at any time? Any at all?"** Sclepus looked very earnest and anxious as he spoke.

Toothless glumly shook his head. " **Until I saw Radamar yesterday, I've never seen a Night Fury apart from myself**."

Sclepus looked like he was battling between disappointment and acceptance. Toothless felt compelled to ask him about it.

" **My Vav and his mate left this nest a long time ago. I've never seen them since. I—I know the outside world is a dangerous place and there's a chance they're—well, when I heard you were from the outside, I thought maybe you'd come across them at some point. Clearly I was wrong—I mean, I know it's a large world and anything could have happened, I know I've been bracing myself for the inevitable, but still…** " he trailed off and looked at the ground. " **I'm sorry. I should have known better than to get my hopes up**."

" **Why did they leave**?" Toothless asked.

He bowed his head. " **They were like many are at that age: curious, unsatisfied, and rebellious. Rather like Radamar. They did not like being told we must stay here, they wanted to see the world, they disagreed with how we lived, and they especially resented the Alepha—he was the Kalk of Salistus and Radamar in those days—telling them what they could and could not do. So one day came one argument too many, and they left. The Alepha let them go—he was glad to be rid of them and felt they would prove him right. They never returned. That was nearly a third of life ago**."

" **A what**?"

" **You do not know how we measure our ages? Of course you would not, I'm sorry, I should not have expected you to**." He looked at Toothless carefully, " **Judging by your scale growth, I'd say you too have passed about a fourth of your life, meaning three fourths remain to you—or so we expect, at any rate**." He looked at Toothless thoughtfully, " **Your eyes…their shape looks familiar…** " he shook his body as if snapping out of a trance, " **Sorry I…I should leave you to your friends. Thank you for your time**."

Toothless got out a short warble and moved away unsteadily. He felt like Dragon Nip had been shoved in his face again. He staggered over to Hiccup, who was still talking with the Alpha. Hiccup took one look at him and knew that something was wrong. "Toothless, what it is?"

" **I think I've just learned—** " Toothless pressed his head against Hiccup's stomach, gently pushing his human to the ground. Hiccup began to pet the dragon's head. Unfortunately, the other Night Furies watching were disgusted.

" **An umanu petting one of us**!"

" **Disgusting! Shameful**!"

" **Get away from him**!" Menomem shouted. She turned to the Alpha, " **Well? Tell them to separate**!"

" **I—er, of course! Separ—you know, what my hoah told you**!" the Alpha spluttered. Toothless did not budge. " **Separate, you two! I command it**!" his voice rose higher, as if he was afraid they would not obey him. He need not have worried. Toothless, very reluctantly but with forced obedience, backed away from Hiccup. Hiccup stood up and made to follow, but Agaruba leapt in front of him, his teeth visible.

"This dream is turning into a nightmare," Hiccup whispered hoarsely. With one remorseful look at Toothless, he turned away and made for the cavern exit. He paused, wanting to say something forceful and rude to the Alpha, but held his tongue. Instead he thought "All right, _Alpha_. You win this round. But there'll be more to come."

In that instant, Hiccup stopped caring about research or anything else except getting himself and his best friend out of this place. But that was problematic, for the reasons he had given earlier. The main issue was the Alpha's mind control over Toothless. In theory, this power could control Toothless at any time in any location on the Earth, and now that the Alpha knew Toothless existed, he would almost certainly make use of that control, no matter where they were.

Hiccup had come up with some options. Most of them involved getting the Alpha in a position to agree to never use his powers on Toothless, whether by sacred oaths, politely asking, bribes, or threats. The first three seemed highly unlikely to work for long, especially with Menomem and Agaruba around to get the Alpha to reconsider. The fourth option seemed incredibly distasteful to Hiccup. It would prove Agaruba was right to mistrust humans. Another possibility was to have Toothless challenge the Alpha and take his place, as he had done against the Red Death to become a Beta all those years ago. Hiccup had no doubt Toothless could win against Salistus, assuming Salistus fought in person. The problem was Hiccup did not know the rules of combat for the position of Alpha. He knew the rules of combat for the position of Beta, but he did not know if they were the same. And he had no way of finding out unless someone challenged the Alpha, and nobody but Toothless was likely to do that.

He thought over his options again and again and concluded his best hopes were in threatening the Alpha or having Toothless become the new Alpha. But first he needed to be in a position where he could make threats.

He went to a pouch in his clothes and pulled out a vial of Nadder venom, which he drank half of. Ever since the failed attempts to poison Ruffnut and him, he continued as much as he dared to build up and retain immunity to such poisons. Glancing through his pouch he found he had a few more vials left. He wondered how many more he would drink before he got out of there.

Speaking of Nadders, Hiccup had assumed that Astrid and Stormfly would appear on the scene sooner or later. He guessed that once they realized he and Toothless were missing, Stormfly would sniff them out. After all, Toothless had found his unconscious body pretty easily and Stormfly was the better tracker. But his wife and her dragon had yet to show up. This made him even more worried, because he knew only something very serious could prevent them from finding him. And this worry made him even more anxious to get out of there and find out what was going on.

Their absence forced him to confront the possibility of him escaping alone. He did not like the idea of leaving Toothless behind one bit, but he feared he might have no choice. He felt it would be easy to get out of these caves, and maybe he could get off the island using a log for a makeshift raft. At worst he could risk swimming, though he was a rotten swimmer. The problem in this scenario was that even if he got off the island, he was still thousands of leagues from home with no means to get there and, even worse, the Night Furies were sure to come after him. Even if they were all in poor physical shape, they could still probably fly faster than he could run. So if he was to escape, he needed a way to put the Night Furies out of action for a while.

"And back home there's still that bounty and Viggo to deal with," he said crossly, "Just when I thought the Gods were starting to like me, _this_ happens!"

Since he could not be with Hiccup, Toothless wanted to be alone. But the Alpha ordered Radamar to continue showing him about the caves. Menomem decided to come along with them, probably because she did not trust Toothless around her plorip after his display of affection for the umanu. Toothless was hardly in the mood to care.

They passed a few rooms that were clearly nests. " **Gusugag lives there with Jej, his plorip** ," Radamar explained. In this instance 'plorip' meant daughter. " **Jej and Nen are the only Notoraquin hatchlings right now. They'll receive their full names after they fly for the first time** ,"

" **They're our hope for the future** ," Menomem said proudly.

" **Some future** ," Toothless muttered.

" **What was that**?"

" **What kind of future**?" he said loudly, " **What kind of life is this, never flying when you want to, living underground all the time, never feeling sunlight on your wings, never travelling to strange places full of things you've ever seen before? What kind of a life is this**?"

" **A safe one** ," Menomem said coldly, " **one where we do not take risks that threaten our safety. One where we ensure our species survives**."

" **Survives for** _ **what**_?" Toothless exclaimed, " **Why is it so important we survive when all we're doing is slowly decaying? What exactly is there to live for down here**?"

" **You would not understand**."

" **Enlighten me, then**."

" **As I said, the outside world is a danger to the Alepha and to the Notoraquin. This way we ensure both endure**."

" **And** _ **why**_ **should both endure**?" Toothless demanded, " **What have either done that makes them deserve to live for ages? How many dragons have died because the Alpha flipped and flopped around on their belly and never did a thing to help anyone? Humans have died too! Hiccup and I nearly lost our lives countless times to get a few islands to see dragons as something better than mindless and murdering demons! We improved the lives of hundreds of people and dragons! What's on** _ **your**_ **list of accomplishments**?"

Radamar was fascinated and wanted him to say more, but Menomem snorted.

" **The outside world never cared for any of us, so why should we care about them? If the umanu wanted to be friends so badly, why'd they keep trying to kill and capture us**?"

" **I'll grant you not all humans are perfect, and they have done awful things to dragons in the past, but this is changing! We're changing it, slowly but surely! We don't need to hide anymore**!"

" **We don't**?" Radamar asked excitedly.

" **Of course we do, Plorip**!" her hoah snapped. " **He's just making up lies to try and convince us that things can improve. But I guarantee this: if Salistus revealed himself as the Alepha, the umanu would at once try to capture him. Here there is peace and security—and that is more than the outside world will ever provide us**." She turned to Radamar, " **I do not want you spending time with him anymore. I will take him back to his den**."

" **I can find it myself**." Toothless snarled. But Menomem followed him anyway.

" **You are thinking foolishly and selfishly** ," she told him as they walked. Toothless was trying to keep as far ahead of her as he could.

" **Am I**?"

" **You were talking with Sclepus, yes? You heard about his Vav, I assume? Then let their example be a warning to you. They thought the outside world was better and it killed them after they deserted us**."

" **How do you know they're dead**?" Toothless retorted, harsher than he intended, " **Maybe they found a better place to live and saw no reason to ever come back!"**

Menomem's eyes sparkled with maliciousness. " **You're too influenced by that umanu. You think you're best friends, I suppose? I'm sure that thing really thinks of you as a pet, or a mount**."

" **You're grasping at straws**." Toothless said smugly, " **Do you expect me to believe you know him better than I do? I've known him for 10 years. I'm the only one he's ever wholly confided in. Hiccup is my best friend and I am his. And one other thing—I AM NOBODY'S PET**!" he roared so loudly he made Menomem jump.

She had to wait a little for the echoes to die down so she could speak without being drowned out. " **Then consider this. You are at what—a quarter life, a fifth? That means you've still got a long life ahead of you—assuming your adventurous insubordination does not end you prematurely. How long does that umanu have to live? What are you going to do when it's dead**?"

" **What are you** —?"

" **I know enough about the umanu to know they do not have a lifespan like the Notoraquin. I imagine when you're only at half life, that thing you cherish so much will be dead. Think of how that will feel if you continue to cherish it. It would be wiser to break all ties with it at once and save yourself the pain of a loss that cannot be avoided**."

" **Or be with him as much as I possibly can while we still have time left**." Toothless retorted.

" **And what happens after it dies**?" she asked triumphantly.

Toothless smiled. He knew it would irritate her. " **If I need advice when that day comes, I'll talk to an actual friend. I certainly won't be coming to** _ **you**_ **for comfort. I'd rather have pneumonia!** "

For the first time her confidence faltered. " **What is that**?"

" **A disease. What? You didn't know that? Well, perhaps there are things the outside world can teach, if you're willing to learn and listen**." With that he turned away and went to his den, kicking away every loose rock in his path. He thought about what Menomem had told him and snorted. " **Does she think I'll come back here when Hiccup dies? Hah! Assuming that we ever get away from here, of course** ," he shuddered. " **But knowing Hiccup he's already got a bunch of plans in mind. And knowing him, we're probably going to die together. Most likely his latest flight suit won't work when he's testing it, I'll try to save him, and we'll both fall to our deaths. Maybe something similar happened to my parents!** " he laughed and then screamed in agony.

" **What is it**?"

Toothless jumped. Radamar was standing behind him, looking very nervous.

" **What do you want now**?" he asked impatiently.

" **You should know I'm disobeying my hoah right now. And if she finds out about this, she'll order Salistus to order me to never go anywhere near you again**."

" **Does that really matter to you**?" Toothless asked blandly. To his surprise she nodded. " **Why**?"

" **Because after all I've heard from you and Hiccup, I want to know more**!" she cried, " **You mentioned places you had helped. How did you help them? How do they live now? And what's it like to feel sunlight on your wings? For that matter, what exactly** _ **is**_ **sunlight**?"

Toothless eyed her incredulously. " **Seriously**?"

" **No, I don't know! That's why I'm asking**!"

She looked at him so imploringly that Toothless mellowed. " **Sit down. So what do you want to know? Where should I start**?"

" **What is sunlight and what does it feel like?** " she asked eagerly.

" **Well, you know what the sun is, right? It's the bright thing in the sky that lights and warms the world and separates day and night**."

" **Oh! The yellow stone! Yes, I know what that is. But I very rarely have seen it. What does it feel like**?"

" **It's a nice warm and comforting sensation. It makes you feel happy and relaxed, like everything's going to be all right in the end**." He saw no need to go on, so he watched as she tried to picture what he said. " **So…what else do you want to know**?"

" **How did you and Hiccup first meet**?"

" **That's not really a memory I like to talk about** ," Toothless said quickly. " **It wasn't a pleasant day for either of us**."

" **Oh…well, then, when did you two have a pleasant day**?"

Toothless thought a moment. " **Well, there was this time a few days later when he showed up carrying a fish** …"

As he went on he found it rather nice to be talking to a female Night Fury. She interrupted almost every other sentence with questions, most of them concerning what no outside dweller would even think about, like what trees and belts were.

"… **and as I reached for the fish he said 'huh, toothless. I could've sworn you had teeth!' And that's where I got my name from**."

" **I can be toothless too**!" Radamar said, retracting her own teeth. " **So what happened next**?"

" **I found out the relations between humans and raw fish and I learned how to smile. And this pesky little kid kept trying to sneak up on me and touch me**." He smiled at the memory and then elaborated for her.

Suddenly she stood up. " **I think I better get going. If my hoah notices I'm gone, she might start to—** "

Toothless nodded at once. " **Yeah** ,"

She turned away but then turned back to him. " **I'll see you later? Perhaps you can finish your story then**?"

Toothless nodded sadly. " **I doubt I'm going anywhere anytime soon**."

" **I'll talk to Salistus if I can, see if he'll let you—well, I'll see you later** ,"

Once she was gone Toothless looked back at the cave wall. " **We didn't even get to the best part, where I wowed him with my artistic abilities—and when we bonded**." He sighed, " **I wonder what my sire would have said about this. Would he have reacted like Hiccup's? Or would he have approved**?" he looked upwards, as if someone above would give him an answer. **"'What's sunlight?' she said. Am I ever going to** _ **see**_ **the sunlight again?** " Dragons cannot cry, but if they could, tears would have been in his eyes. He was thinking about the period of his existence when he had been a slave to the Red Death.

Hiccup had a hard childhood, but in some respects his had been worse. Once he learned to fly he had believed himself practically invincible, and one night he came upon a flock of dragons carrying their kills to their nest. They had told him about their tyrannical Beta, and he had naively thought he could take her down and claim the nest for his own. The overthrow had died before it began. Within a few heartbeats he was just another slave to the Red Death's will.

Toothless sometimes really hated how Betas and Alphas had complete control over their nests. That was one reason why he did not use his own powers too often. He knew how dangerous that kind of power was and he had seen what it did to those who had it, and what it did to those around them. Salistus the Alpha was hardly aware of what he was truly capable of. He did not realize he could order everyone to kill themselves and they would have to do it. And it would not technically violate the First Law, thanks to loopholes in the Law's wording.

Unlike Salistus, the Red Death had been fully aware of what she was capable of. Every few nights everyone would go find her food and anyone who had not brought enough back died. Those she ate had the fastest and most painless deaths. They had lived in terror so much that flying out to find food for her was almost a relief, until they remembered what might happen to them later.

He had never taken food from any villages—not because he cared about them, but he had known it was safer to find food in the wild, and he was a good enough hunter that he could afford the gamble. He would still blast village defenses from a distance, to make it a little easier for others. But this small assistance had been for selfish reasons: the fewer dragons there were in the nest, the more food they would have to bring in, and the more likely their efforts would displease the Red Death. Certainly he had not rendered any assistance because of any affection for the other dragons. Affection? Friendship? Honor? Integrity? Those meant nothing in that horrible nest. Nobody wanted to have anything to do with anyone else in case the Red Death thought they were plotting against her. After years of living that way, everyone thought of nothing but their own survival. Other dragons were just vague faces not worth the effort to think about.

And then he had met Hiccup. That day, in that boy's eyes, he realized that both of them were living awful lives and were searching hopelessly for a way out. And they had worked together and found that way out, and into the happiest years he had ever known. And when he had become a Beta he had sworn he would not abuse his power like the Red Death had. The dragons who had come from that nest thanked him profusely for that promise. It had felt like waking up from a nightmare when the Red Death had died.

And now he was back in a nest that was already treating him like a slave. Oh yes they were. He had been ordered to stay there for the rest of his life, without anyone giving any consideration to what he might actually want. Not only was he furious about it, but it also worried him. He could not help but fear sooner or later this nest was going to end up just like the nest at Helheim gate had been. Had he escaped one nightmare to only gain a breathing space before another?

Then he sneezed and shook his head violently. " **There I go, wallowing in self pity like Hiccup used to. I'm a Night Fury! I'm getting out of here, one way or another, just like my parents did, and I'm bringing my human with me! I'm Toothless the Night Fury, not Emaracluse the Notoraquin, and sooner or later, somehow, I'm going to fly with the sunlight on my wings again and with Hiccup controlling my tail! And that's a promise!** "


	32. Chapter 32

**I Own Nothing**

 **All Rights Reserved**

 **To my guest reviewers:**

 **To my first guest who reviewed Sept. 8, you shall see more of both sides now**

 **To my second guest who reviewed Sept. 8, if any Night Fury names seem Roman, it was unintentional, and I think Chapter 33 will dispel some of that impression. On the other hand, I actually think it's not a bad idea if the Night Furies were unknowingly influenced by the Romans.**

 **To my third guest, who reviewed Sept. 9, I want this story done too. I'm inching my way to the finish line, but I'll get there. As for Toothless's parents, as far as I'm concerned, they're dead. I've already dealt with one parent who miraculously survived decades of absence (Valka), and to feature it a second time in the same story would be too monstrous of a coincidence and raise a million questions that would detract from the current conflict.**

 **Chapter 32**

 **In Captivity**

The day after Viggo Grimborn and his flagship returned to Grimmige Festung the ship carrying Hognose's party returned. Viggo watched from a window. He saw most of the crew lumber and stagger off the ship, none of them looking too pleased to be back. He saw no need to go down to them and waited for Hognose to report in person. Heather followed him.

"We made it!" Hognose groaned wearily.

"So I see."

"Wot a voyage. Ran inta storm after storm. Even wid 'Eather's dragon pullin' we couldn't go too fast. Pick any given minute an' 'alf the crew was sick."

"But we didn't come back empty handed, sir!" Heather cut in, "We caught Snotlout's Nightmare. He's locked up down below."

"Nightmares will fetch a good price when business resumes its proper course, but I was hoping for more," Viggo said.

"Oh we got more," laughed Hognose. Viggo turned and saw Ryker helping Astrid Hofferson walk towards them.

"Well, well, well," Viggo said softly, "this _is_ something more,"

Astrid was a wreck. Disheveled all over, pale, and unsteady on her legs. It did not help that she had sets of manacles on both her legs and hands. But despite her poor physical appearance her gaze burned as hotly as ever with anger.

"Did you find anyone else?" Viggo asked.

They shook their heads. "Her Nadder flew off, and as for Hiccup, Snotlout, and the Night Fury, we never even saw any of them. We don't even know if Hiccup was there at all."

Viggo studied Astrid's face. "All right. Search her—not you, Hognose. Ryker, you search her,"

"We did that before we sailed," Heather interrupted.

"Ryker, search her,"

"Ain't ya gonna ask 'er where Useless is?"

Viggo looked at Hognose impatiently. "No." Astrid had been on a boat for weeks. She probably could not tell them where Hiccup was now even if she wanted to. So he opted to save himself the trouble of asking.

Astrid had so many retorts she could make but she deemed it wiser to keep her mouth shut for the moment. Ryker patted her down from head to toe but found nothing.

"Very well. Ryker, secure her in your quarters."

"Wot?"

"You have some objection, Hognose?"

Now Astrid laughed contemptuously. "Of course he does! He'd rather I was in _his_ quarters! He'd have already tried to rape me several times if he hadn't been so seasick he couldn't even stand up! It's lucky for him that he couldn't!"

"Yeah, you might have thrown up on him," Heather said snidely, "you got pretty sick yourself during the voyage,"

Viggo felt his impatience mounting. "Ryker, she will be locked in your quarters and no one is to touch her—at all."

"Why not?" Hognose demanded, "After that miser-ible trip, ah deserve sometin' fer my sufferin'!"

"Are you suggesting I do not reward you enough, Hognose?" Viggo asked icily. Hognose paled and shook his head. "Good. Go find a brothel if you're that desperate for a woman's body, but never question my orders again. Ryker, I'll speak with you alone after you've secured her."

Ryker's room was about as sparse and lacking in personality as a room could ever look. Some prison cells had more distinctive features. There was an old desk, a chest, a bed, a chair, and a few possessions, like clothes and weapons strewn about on them.

"Living the life of luxury, aren't you?" Astrid sniggered.

"Well you see, lass, we hunters don't get to stay in one place for too long." he retorted as he pulled her over to one wall which had iron rings imbedded in it. He wound her chains through the rings and locked them. "There. Don't even think about trying to escape. Even a dragon can't pull these rings free—we've tested them. We've also tested these." He held up a sword.

Astrid was not impressed. "It's a typical mass-produced broadsword. I've seen plenty of superior models. My husband's a blacksmith, you know,"

"Ah, but this is no ordinary sword," he held it closer to her, half threateningly, half playfully. "See the sheen? That's a mixture of venoms from Nadders, Vorpents, Adderwings, and Scauldrons, which we brew and then coat the blade in. All that's left is to get it into the bloodstream. Even if I gave you the merest cut, you'd die within 20 minutes. And that's just what I'll do if you give me trouble. Viggo wants you as a hostage, but we've got plenty of those already. We can always dispense with one." He put the sword down and bowed exaggeratedly. "Well, 'milady', is there anything else I can get for you?"

"Any pears? I've been wanting ever since I got caught."

Ryker frowned. "Pears? _Fruit_? Ugh, that stuff's disgusting."

"Obviously I'm not going to get any,"

"You'll be lucky if you get a slice of bread once a day!" he spat, cuffing her on the head. He stomped out and slammed the door behind him. "Ugh, fruit! Give me a slab of meat any day." He went back to where his brother was waiting. "She wanted fruit, Viggo! Can you imagine?"

"Certain types prevent scurvy," Viggo said smoothly, "but of course, she won't be getting any. And I don't want her to know where her mother is,"

"Are ya sure? It would upset her if she knew,"

"So will not knowing at all. Be very careful around her, brother. I don't want to give her any opportunity to learn anything or to escape. That was the main reason why I won't let Hognose have intercourse with her."

Ryker scratched his head, "You think in the excitement of the moment that boy might let something slip?"

"Or he will do something careless and she will use it to her advantage. I know you can control your impulses better,"

"Don't worry, Viggo, she ain't getting loose,"

"You'd better prove those aren't just words. And don't let anyone else have access to her, especially Heather," Viggo added.

"I understand the reasons, but don't you think Heather's truly one of us now?"

Viggo looked exasperated, as if tired of having to explain things to inferior intellects, "Draccus was one of us too, remember? Nobody sees her."

Fishlegs was kneeling in front of King Sweyn and getting tired of being on his knees as the King mulled matters over.

"I do owe you a favor, and I would very much like to help my friend Hiccup, but unfortunately, there's a problem, Fishlegs."

Fishlegs could practically feel his morale drop. "T—there is, your majesty?"

"Yes. Can you read Latin? No? Well then, I will read it for you." The King produced a scroll and read "'His Holiness, Pope Alexander II, gives full approval to Viggo Grimborn and his efforts to rid Europe of the vicious and heathen Vikings and their satanic mounts, dragons. Viggo Grimborn has the authority of the Papacy to deal with them as he pleases. Anyone who attempts to hinder this effort to save the settlements of the True Faith will be excommunicated.' Signed by the Pope and stamped with his personal seal. You known what excommunication is, don't you? It means a soul is cast from the Church and will never enter the Kingdom of God. They will be condemned to an eternity in purgatory."

Fishlegs whistled. He knew enough about Christianity to know that was bad.

"Exactly. It is among the worst punishments the Church can use. You must understand, while I have quarreled with the Church sometimes, I can't push matters too far or else I will never enter Heaven. And being an excommunicated King won't be exactly popular with my subjects either." He added dryly.

"But can't an excommunication be reversed?" Fishlegs asked desperately.

"Certainly it can, but there's never a guarantee that will happen. And this edict will scare away other Christians from helping you."

"Viggo played this beautifully," Fishlegs muttered. "But wait a minute—Viggo's not a Christian! He's—all right, I don't know what God he believes in—but he's not doing any of this to spread the word of any God, he's doing this to get revenge on Berk and spread his dragon hunting business so he can make a fortune! He's certainly not looking after the Pope's best interests! Anything can be put in a letter!"

"True…and I don't doubt you're right, but that's not what His Holiness the Pope will believe. Most likely Viggo sent a letter to Rome with all kinds of promises and Holy phrases. Alexander cannot exactly say 'no' to someone who claims they are spreading the word of God and protecting the God-fearing from heathens and heretics. And I have to add, Vikings have been raiding honest Christian villages for centuries. Nobody in Rome cares much about the safety of a Viking Tribe."

Fishlegs felt helpless as a fish in a net. "So there's no chance of you helping me, then?"

"Well…I would not say that," the King struggled to his feet, picked up his staff, and limped towards Fishlegs. Fishlegs was relieved to be able to stand up again, though he kept his head bowed. "If Viggo can convince the Pope one way, it's always possible to convince him the other way too, especially if Viggo fails to deliver on his promises."

"That doesn't help us much," Fishlegs mumbled.

"And if you were able to cause Viggo's downfall and showed you were a force to be reckoned with, I imagine Alexander would back away from extremes. He is old and ill, from what I hear. It's possible if you showed your military might he, or possibly his successor, would be willing to leave you alone if you left him alone."

"That's just what Hiccup wants! Berk hasn't raided a Christian settlement in decades!" That was because there were no Christian settlements near enough for a short voyage and nobody had dared make a longer one because of the dragon attacks.

"Unfortunately, I cannot give you military aid when Rome is on Viggo's side. However…there is a way around this. You see, in his message Alexander also says 'it has come to the attention of the Bishops of Rome that there are certain realms who have taken to following the heathen in allowing satanic dragons to dwell among them. This practice must end at once.' In other words, they know now that Denmark and other places co-exist with dragons and want us to get rid of our dragons." He sighed. "That is a hard order. I have grown very fond of my Nightmare Hildebrand—almost as fond as I am of his namesake. I certainly would not want to just turn him loose into the wilderness. However, since I am ordered to get rid of every dragon in Denmark and since you need help…"

Fishlegs understood and he threw himself at the King's feet crying "thank you!" over and over.

"Careful! Don't touch my bad leg!" the King groaned. "As I was saying, tell me where you want these dragons to go, and I will see to the details. But there is a condition,"

"Name it!"

"If I can get Rome to change their minds about the excommunication threats, I want my dragons back."

Fishlegs gave him all the assurances and thanks a King could possibly want.

The black clouds had not lifted by any means, but at last Fishlegs could see a ray of hope that was built on more than just conjuncture and speculation.

Ryker rose early, as was his custom, ate a quick breakfast and went to see his brother.

"The plan is to launch a massive spring campaign," Viggo told him, "every dragon we possess is being forced to breathe into the Dragon Eye as we speak. When the spring comes, we will make for the locations we find, capturing every dragon we come across."

"Excellent," Ryker grinned.

"The prisoner has been kept confined and ignorant?"

"Perfectly. She only leaves twice a day to use the outhouse, and never talks to anyone."

"Good. With Berk out of the way and the Pope supporting us, every Viking tribe and Christian Kingdom will be buying from us. And I am making a new investment to update and improve our equipment. We will have the finest hunting fleet in existence. I have even been wondering, brother, perhaps we should consider having our own dragon riders. We had Adoncia, after all, and put her to good use, and now we have Heather, but perhaps if we had an entire flock of them…of course, we shall need more dragons first. Then we can pick out the choicest specimens."

"And what about the Dragon King? If he returns—"

" _When_ he returns, brother, for I have no doubt he will. Then it's quite simple: he will come for his wife, and we will kill him on sight. If he brings an army, we will wipe it out. Oh yes, the Meat Heads and two other tribes have declared their allegiance to us—out of fear, of course—and I have ordered them to bring their men here as fast as possible. Our home will be well protected—and yet—" he looked away to hide his concerned expression. "And yet all the odds seemed to be with Bludvist and he still lost. We should not take any chances or let him take the initiative. Ryker, go with Heather and that Razorwhip and search for him. Don't return until after five days have passed and be ready to set out again, unless you find him."

Ryker was not really surprised to be sent off so unexpectedly. "But what about Astrid? Somebody will have to watch her and feed her while I'm gone."

"I'll see to it." Viggo's slave could attend to her few needs, and if she remained chained and the door remained locked nobody would bother her.

Astrid had made virtually no sound when Ryker told her he was leaving with Heather. He made a point of emphasizing who he was going with, and he was glad to see her fighting back tears. Once he had left, however, she quickly brushed them aside, waited a few hours, and then pulled her legs towards her hands so she could reach the bottom of her skirt.

These days she had 3 picklocks hidden about her. One was in her shoulder pads, which had been taken away. Another was hidden in a boot, and the third was in a small slit at the end of her leather skirt. There were similar slits sewn in symmetrical patterns around the skirt so the one containing the picklock did not seem out of the ordinary. With a bit of effort she brought the skirt close and managed to feed her fingers into the slit and pull out her means of escape. After that it was easy to pick the locks and free herself. But she had no intention of leaving yet. Oh no, she was going to gather information.

She quickly went over to the old desk and rifled through the drawers. She soon found an old journal. Most of it was entries concerning dragons they had caught, their weight, location, and dates. Most of it was also almost illegible. Obviously Ryker was not the best writer in the world, and that was saying something, because Astrid was not the most literate. Still, a few things caught her eye. One was a sketch of a map and a poorly scrawled note next to it that said "remember: gold now to Barren Is." She committed the map to memory and then hurried back to chain herself to the wall again. She would look around again later, many more times if she could, but first she wanted to make certain of the slave woman's routine. Her findings might not amount to much, but they would be more pieces of information they might use to their advantage if and when Hiccup returned. And if he had not given some signal of his return within another two weeks, or maybe less, if she could wait no longer, she had a plan of her own she would put into action.

As she sat she thought back to that day on the island when she had seen Heather with those hunters.

Her first thought was that Heather had been tracking those hunters and had come to join her fight against them. And then Heather had pointed her axe at Astrid's throat.

"I think you'd better surrender," she had said. Astrid had felt like a bucket of icy water had been dumped on her, and she felt even worse when they started fighting. Yet almost from the beginning Astrid could tell Heather was holding back. As they dueled, in between shouting threats, Heather quickly and quietly explained that she had been sent by Mala to spy on Viggo. She then said that if she brought someone like Astrid to the hunters it would secure her position and assure them of her loyalty, which would allow her access to more information.

Astrid understood the point at once but at first wanted nothing to do with this. She did not like the idea of being a captive. Yet the fact remained those hunters were there and were after Hiccup. If she was their prisoner she could help mislead them and their comrades and lure them away from Hiccup. She also saw that she could be a spy herself if she let them take her. It was a very dangerous, possibly foolish and potentially deadly plan, but in the short time they had had available she made up her mind to take the risk.

The only problem was how to tell Hiccup about it, and Stormfly was the obvious solution. She and Windshear had been fighting as well, though their fight had been less staged, at least from Stormfly's point of view. The Nadder had initially been flatly opposed to Heather's plan and leaving Astrid.

Astrid reflected on the differences between the Hunters and the Riders. Those hunters were so ignorant of what dragons were like they had made a huge mistake: they never once thought it strange that Astrid's own dragon, one of her best friends and an odd mixture of sister, daughter, and mother to her, would just fly away when her human was in trouble. She grinned to herself, knowing that any Berkian would instantly have guessed something was up. Those hunters probably assumed dragons only cared for themselves and saved themselves at the first given opportunity.

The essence of the plan was to return with Heather. Hiccup would learn about this from Stormfly and follow at once. He would likely gather their forces and come up with a plan of his own. So, Astrid and Heather would likely snoop around for a week or two, and then escape to rejoin their tribes. Or, depending on what Hiccup was planning, they might stay where they were as insiders. It was just possible they might be able to kill or capture Viggo.

So far the plan had gone decently, though she was completely ignorant of what was going on beyond the fortress, and she hated this ignorance.

She heard a sound and looked up. A drab woman was unlocking the door and bringing in a few slices of bread. She dropped them unceremoniously on the floor. "Here,"

"Charming," Astrid said dryly. She sounded more like Hiccup than herself, but she knew sarcasm would annoy her captors more, and that annoyance might get them to spill a secret or two. "Can I count on such luxury every meal?"

"When you actually get them!" the woman laughed harshly, "a few slices in the morning, a few in the afternoon, and a few at night."

"And no pears, I imagine," she grumbled. She still had that craving for some reason.

"Who do you think you are: a King's mistress?" she snorted. "Here's your bread, now shut up and eat it!"

"Are you this rude to Viggo?" Astrid asked, genuinely curious, "I can't imagine he'd put up with you if you were,"

"Oh he thinks he'll break me into a submissive little slave, but he won't." the woman said dismissively.

"Does he do that to all his people?"

The woman shrugged and left.

Heather and Ryker had had a miserable time flying around looking in vain for Hiccup, and within two days they would have happily turned around if not for the fear of displeasing Viggo.

Then on their third day out they found Gronkle tracks in the snow of one island. Due to the bad weather they went on foot. When they came upon a fallen tree Heather slipped under it and Windshear hopped over easily, but Ryker had to work to get over, and he declined any offers of help. So Heather went ahead a ways, laughing quietly.

"Manly hunters don't need a woman's aid to climb over a tree, huh? Evidently it's manly to waste time and energy instead of grabbing a woman's hand for a few moments. Hah!" she looked around. The trail kept going on past a very large boulder. Heather advanced cautiously, and then she spotted Fishlegs Ingerman peering over the top of the boulder.

For a moment he looked shocked. Then he smiled and was plainly about to leap down and join her. Heather at once made every signal she could think of to tell him to stay put. He reacted in confusion but obeyed her. Heather then returned to Ryker, who had finally gotten over the tree.

"Well? What did you find?"

She shrugged. "The trail continues a ways and then stops. The dragon must've flown off."

He looked up at the sky. "If that thing lives here it'll be back. If not, there's no point in going further. Either way, we might as well camp here for the night. We can use that tree to help prop the shelters on."

"Sure," Heather said nonchalantly. "I'll take the first watch,"

Later that night she told Ryker she was going to patrol the area. He had no desire to join her, as he was the one under a nice thick blanket. For her part, she was glad for the chance to move around, because it was freezing. It was a clear night, with a million stars and not one cloud visible. Even in the darkness she could see her breath.

She carefully found her way to the boulder from earlier that day. Fishlegs emerged from hiding a few minutes later. She made a sign to keep his voice down.

"What are you doing here?"

"I could say the same to you," she said.

Fishlegs eyed her warily. "Why is Ryker Grimborn with you?"

Heather was shocked. She had expected him to explain things at once, yet he was clearly not certain if he should trust her. Was this a price she had to pay for spying? "Fish, it's not what you think. I'm not a hunter; I'm just spying on them—and I didn't just tell you that, got it? You've got to believe me; I'm on your side!"

Fishlegs gave in almost at once. "I saw Ryker so I had Meatlug set a trail for him—"

"I wondered about that. I couldn't believe you'd be so stupid you'd let her leave footprints in the snow,"

"Yes, that was deliberate, but after I saw you I wiped it out. So have you heard anything? Where's Hiccup? Where are Astrid and Snotlout and the Twins?"

Heather frowned. "They're not with you?"

"No."

"I'd have thought you'd be the first one Hiccup would contact once he got back."

"He'd have contacted Astrid first." Fishlegs replied, "Of course, she went with him so they're probably still together,"

"Actually…" Heather quickly explained what she and Astrid had done. Fishlegs was amazed and very confused.

"What's going on here then? What's the plan? I'm going around getting dragons so we can save the tribe and now—"

Heather frowned. "Save the tribe?"

"You don't know?" Now it was his turn to explain what had happened. Heather was horrified by his news.

"I had no idea…I knew Viggo was up to something, but this…"

"I know. Oh, what are we going to do? Wait—I know!" He suddenly grabbed her arm, "We've got dragons now, we can get Astrid back and she'll help us lead an attack on Viggo—let's go now!"

"Fish, that fortress is marble. Dragon fire can't penetrate it. We'd be cut down and gain nothing."

Fishlegs let go of her and clenched his hands. "I'm not good at this kinda thing, Heather! I don't know what to do! I don't know where my tribe's gone, our allies won't help without guarantees, Astrid's caught, you're spying, all the other riders are gone and maybe dead, I'm no good at leading people, and I don't—"

"Fishlegs," Heather said sharply, "Times like these show us who we really are and what we're made of. Are you going to let this pressure destroy you or are you going to rise to the occasion?" She put a hand on his shoulder, "I have every faith that you'll rise to it. But I need to get back or Ryker will be suspicious."

"Right but—what should I do?"

"Find a safe place to hide these dragons you mentioned, and wait 10 days. If you haven't heard from me or anyone else you trust by then, do what you think is best."

Fishlegs nodded grimly. He was glad to finally receive some orders. "I'll come here every day at sunset and wait. If you get the chance, come and we'll talk more."

She gave him the name of an island. "That's where the Defenders are. Get in touch with them; they'll help you."

"What if Hiccup's dead?" Fishlegs asked hoarsely, "What do we do then?"

"We'll have to get along without him," she said grimly. "I have to go now, before Ryker starts looking for me,"

Fishlegs wanted to talk a lot longer with her, to hammer out a long term plan and try and help her any way he could, but he knew she was right to walk away.

Heather wanted to talk a lot longer with him, to hammer out a long term plan and try and give him all the reassurances she could, but she knew she had to head back.

Winter nights on a deserted island were cold, but in some respects spending them in a marble castle were even worse. At Grimmige Festung, high up on a fjord and exposed to ocean and inland winds, which wailed like ghosts through the cold black passageways and over the slippery ramparts, guards shivered miserably and counted down the seconds until they could go off duty and get into a flea ridden bed with a damp rag for a blanket.

Way down below in the cells, where the night had been just as cold as it had been for those up above and even more miserable and hopeless, lay Greta Hofferson, a mere shell of her former self. Not that she really was aware of it or really cared. Time had little meaning these days in these cells, where people did nothing but sit and seethe, hope, or despair. Most of them had no real hope now. They all knew once the spring came they would probably be shipped off to slavery like the rest of their tribe had been. That was assuming they survived that long. Such were the thoughts of the despairing.

And then there were those who were angry. Those who wanted to break out somehow and storm the castle and slaughter Viggo and all his people like pigs. Such fire was slowly dying in some and growing hotter in others. And such fires were starting to turn towards Hiccup.

When Viggo had given them the speech to justify his actions and make him look like a selfless martyr nobody had believed him for a minute at the time. But as more time passed and nothing improved their situation, people began to wonder what Hiccup was doing and why he had not come to help them yet. After all, he had saved his father, Astrid, and the Jorgensons within a few days of hearing about it, and at the time they were largely his enemies; surely he would come quickly to save his own tribe? Yet he had not. Nobody knew why. Some came up with genuine reasons, but in their depressed state most of the Vikings were not interested in excuses and were starting to assume the worst.

For her part, Greta Hofferson was clinging to every shred of hope she could find. She did not believe Hiccup or Astrid had abandoned them, but that actually brought her more unease, not comfort. She knew that if something was preventing Hiccup or Astrid from coming to help, then something horrible had happened to them, and she was worried sick for their safety. She had lost count of how many times she had prayed to the Gods. And she had no idea that, on that very night, her daughter was somewhere less than 50 meters above her.

Astrid was having a hard time as well. Though she was indoors and safe from the winds, the marble walls hardly kept her warm, and her chained limbs made it difficult to get comfortable. The chains were about as long as her legs were, so she had some freedom of movement and could sit and stand up if she desired to, but even so, sleeping in chains was never pleasant. The chains were just as cold as everything else was. At times it felt as if ice was being held against her skin. She had a blanket but it was little use on such a bitter night as this. She was also feeling a bit nauseated again, which was starting to worry her. She had initially put it down to the rough voyage which had made virtually everyone sick, but she should have recovered from that by now.

The creaking of the door caught her attention. Someone pushed it opened and she tensed up. Hognose entered the room.

"Oh, yer awake?"

"You sound disappointed," she said suspiciously.

"Ya look cold," he remarked.

"And you look like you want to warm me," she growled, "I'm warning you, Hognose, touch me and it'll be the last thing you ever do. And if that's not warning enough for you, you're even dumber than Dogsbreath was. Besides, didn't Viggo tell you to leave me alone?"

He clenched his fists and ground his teeth. "Wot 'e don't know won't 'urt me. An' ah've waited enough!" he lunged at her. With one hand he grabbed her face so he could kiss it, while the other tried to tug her shirt off. Astrid kicked him in the leg repeatedly, so he pressed her against the wall. He was so excited that when she put an arm around his neck he thought she was giving in. That was a fatal assumption. With her arm and the chain it was attached to around his neck she started squeezing with every ounce of her strength. His eyes widened and his hands tried to pry off the grip around his throat, but it was too late to do him any good. She squeezed harder. His limbs flapped and jerked about and his face began to change color. She squeezed harder. Her own heart was beating faster, as if to compensate for the decrease in Hognose's. He tried one last grab but she gritted her teeth together and squeezed even harder.

Dagur the Deranged was passing down the corridor by Ryker's room when he heard a strange noise coming from within. He went in to take a look and saw Astrid push the limp form of Hognose onto the floor.

"He tried to rape me," she panted, "And if you're here for that reason too, you'll be next to go!"

Dagur cocked his head. "That won't be necessary." He slowly approached her. "Here, we don't want you getting more attention from the boss peoples. I'll take care of poor little Hognose. Nobody will know truth a thing about the tonight."

"Why should you care?" Astrid demanded.

Dagur just smiled. Yet even when he smiled for pleasant reasons he still carried a wicked look about him.

And the next morning Viggo was informed that Dagur had been woken up that night by an intruder. He had instinctively grabbed a knife and attacked the person, only to discover too late it was Hognose, who had been filling his pockets with Dagur's more valuable possessions. Knowing the sort of person Hognose was nobody doubted he had been robbing Dagur, and knowing what sort of person Dagur was nobody doubted he had been the one to kill Hognose. And nobody really cared all that much. Viggo simply told his people, "And that is what happens to those who indulge in dishonest business." They all understood the implication he was making. Hognose was unceremoniously cast into a shallow grave dug in the hard cold earth and that was the end of it.

As for Astrid, she did not get a wink of sleep that night after killing Hognose but did not feel tired in the slightest.

She did not really regret killing Hognose. He had been warned enough times not to touch her and he had ignored it. She asked herself if this was what her father would have done, and in this case she knew it was. In fact, strangling Hognose was an act of kindness compared to what her father would likely have done if he was still alive. Hiccup would have probably done the same thing too. She wondered if he had felt this way when he had killed Adoncia. Still, she could not deny that strangling him had shaken her. Her main consolation was that at least Hognose had not actually succeeded in his intentions.

But it was Dagur's actions that left her the most perplexed. What on earth had prompted him to do that? Whose side was he really on? She wished she knew. Heck, she wondered if Dagur himself actually knew, or did he just side with whomever he pleased depending on the mood he was in?

She felt sick again, and half-wished she had thrown up on Hognose before killing him. This nausea was really starting to get on her nerves and worry her. What was wrong with her? She was in excellent shape and had not had a serious illness in years, so what was going on now? Had she picked up some disease while down in the south?

She suddenly looked down at her stomach. The fragments came together to form a whole and her eyes widened. "Oh my gosh!" she gasped, "I'm pregnant!"


	33. Chapter 33

**Chapter 33**

" **Let's Have a Mug of Mead"**

On Bog Burglar Island, Big Boobied Bertha looked down from her high and imposing chair at her unexpected visitor. "Well, Thuggory, what message does Mogadon have for me?"

"He doesn't," the young man replied nervously, "I came here for help."

"What kind of help?" Bertha asked suspiciously. On her right her daughter ran a hand through her hair slowly and gave him a bewitching smile, which made Thuggory blush.

"I—well, the fact is—I—I mean, your tribe—you Bog Burglars haven't sided with Viggo yet! My tribe has. And I want out of it. I want to—"

"Yes, what do you want, exactly? Don't beat around the bush."

"Well…I want to help bring Viggo down."

Several Bog Burglars shook their heads distrustfully. Thuggory's silver Monstrous Nightmare growled at the sounds. "We are neutral," Bertha announced, "We will not join nor hinder Viggo." For now, she added mentally.

"But you will, someday soon, right?"

"We shall see," Bertha said coolly.

"I get it, you don't trust me. I understand. But here's the thing: I've learned enough about what they did to Berk. Now I'm a fighter, as you all know, and I know that in wars people get hurt and killed, but this wasn't war. What they did was straight up murder. They crossed a line. And since my tribe joined them, my tribe crossed a line too, one I'm not crossing with them. My dragon Killer and I came here hoping to join you in fighting against them, but if you're not going to…then please let us stay?"

Camicazi nodded eagerly but Bertha held up a hand. "You would become one of us?"

"I…"

"You do realize Mogadon will not allow this once he learns about it, don't you?"

Thuggory snorted. "He should've thought of that before he sided with Viggo! He's probably disowned me already, so I can't go back to them. So yes, Bertha, Killer and I will be Bog Burglars from now on."

Bertha nodded slowly. "We shall see about you proving yourself."

Ten days had passed since Hiccup and Toothless had ended up in the Alpha's nest. For the most part the days had passed idly, and both of them were very bored. There was simply nothing worth doing except individually planning how to escape. Hiccup had several plans in mind but all of them had at least one major limitation which he could not find a way around. He did not despair, but kept hoping something would come up. He was very much an opportunist.

The armor he was supposed to be making for Salistus did not exist. He had taken some of his cooking gear from the saddle bags and pretended these metal pieces were only the beginning of the most amazing suit of armor ever constructed. If anyone ever got curious, or nosy, he went into a long technical explanation of what he was doing, using blacksmith terms the Night Furies had never heard before. When these explanations were mixed with flattery, the Alpha was both confused and delighted, delighted enough to keep his mother and bodyguard off of Hiccup's back. But Hiccup knew this game could not last much longer.

He was mostly alone during these long days. Radamar sometimes stopped by secretly to talk with him, Toothless came over as often as he could, and occasionally Agaruba stopped by to threaten him, but aside from that he hardly interacted with the Night Furies. They kept their distance from him, and he had taken advantage of it to explore the area. He now knew the extent of these caves and where the exits to the outside were. The passage he and Toothless had come through had been completely blocked up, probably by Agaruba.

"All I need now is an opening," he muttered. He spotted Radamar coming and pulled out his metal spoon, which was supposedly the mold for the armor's plating. No human would have been fooled, but these dragons knew absolutely nothing about blacksmithing. " **Well, what shall we talk about today, Radamar? Chinese gardens? Tigers? Snow? Or how about the Fall of Troy**?" Or how about her intentions towards Toothless, he thought mischievously.

She shook her head. " **I've come to warn you. Salistus has decided he wants his armor after the yellow stone disappears. He's already told everyone he's going to wear it**!"

Hiccup guessed someone had persuaded Salistus to announce this. And if he did not show off his new armor he would look really foolish in front of his nest, so there would be small chance of changing his mind this time. He smiled. " **Don't worry, it'll be ready**."

Radamar breathed a sigh of relief. " **Good. He said he'd kill you himself if he didn't get it. I don't think he really will, but Agaruba would happily do it for him**."

" **So he keeps telling me. Would you mind if he did**?"

" **Yes**." She said. " **Unlike some others, I don't think you're a monster, Hiccup. I think you're interesting, and so are the things you've been telling me about. And I don't want Toothless's best friend to die because of some stupid armor**."

" **I won't**." Hiccup assured her. " **Now, if you don't mind, I'm going to finish polishing it. It's a long and mundane process, so there's no need for you to stay and watch. You'll just get bored. Why don't you go see what Toothless is doing? I'm sure he'd be delighted to spend more time with you**."

Radamar tried to look indifferent. " **Oh you—you think so**?"

" **I know so**." He grinned. He had seen the way those two were interacting. It reminded him of how he and Astrid had acted around each other before they had finally opened up and admitted they had feelings for each other. In this, at least, dragons and humans were very similar.

Still, he felt a little guilty watching her walk away. " **I hate deceiving her about this armor. She's been kinder to us than anyone else here**."

" **Just like me, sir**?"

" **Yes, just like—wait a minute!** " Hiccup's head jolted upwards. Sharpshot the Terrible Terror was hanging from the ceiling directly above him. " **Sharpshot! What in the—** "

" **We have come here to save you, sir**!" the Terror dropped onto his head. Hiccup quickly pulled him off and put him behind a boulder. " **Sorry, but others may be watching. Stay hidden and keep your voice down.** "

Sharpshot said " **Yes sir** " so quietly Hiccup only knew he spoke because he saw his mouth moved.

Hiccup felt weak with relief. " **Well I'm very glad to see you, little guy. Who else is here? Where are they**?"

The Terror continued talking so quietly Hiccup had to tell him to speak up a little.

" **Everyone is outside on the big hill. Misters Evictus and Stormfly are in command! You must come at once! The Berk Place is overrun!"**

Hiccup felt a chill run down his spine. **"What was that?"**

" **The Grim Viggo has overrun the Berk Place! We came here to find you and bring you back to save it, sir!"** The Terror looked around. " **Where's Big Brother Toothy**?"

" **He's safe**." Hiccup's mind was racing at this sudden turn of events. " **Is Astrid with you**?"

Sharpshot shrugged. Hiccup frowned. Why would Astrid not be with Stormfly? And what had happened to Berk? What had Viggo done that would prompt a group of dragons to cross such a distance to ask him for help? There was only one way he was going to find out, and that meant escaping. And he now saw the opening he needed.

" **Sharpshot, listen to me, and listen very carefully. You must follow my instructions to the letter; its life or death. You must go back to the others. Tell them I need barrels of something to drink. I don't care what kind of drink—it could be seawater for all I care, but it must be something dragons can drink. There are bound to be some tribes or nomads on nearby islands or on the African coast; you'll have to steal from them.** " He handed Sharpshot two emeralds from a pocket. " **Leave these where you find the barrels. All right? Repeat everything for me. Good, but there's more. You must take these barrels to the western edge of this island. Somewhere underwater, in line with the mountain, there will be a tunnel. Put the barrels in there and make sure they float into it. That's the most essential part and it** _ **must**_ **be done before sunset, understand?** "

" **Couldn't we just hand you the barrels, sir**?"

" **That would be easier, yes, but it's too hard to explain without arousing suspicion. After you send the barrels on their way, there's a passage on the south side of the mountain, about halfway down it. Wait for me there. And nobody else is to come in here, got it?** "

Hiccup had him repeat his instructions again and sent the Terror on his way. Now all Hiccup could do was wait, wonder nervously what had happened to his family and tribe in his absence, and pray the dragons were able to follow through with his plan.

"If they can't, once all the Night Furies are gathered in that cavern, I'll leave pretending I'm going to get his armor. It'll take them a while to notice I haven't returned. Not as long as I'd like, but it'll have to do." He felt a knot in his stomach. "Toothless…"

The only real way to tell time in the Night Fury nest was when the Night Furies got hungry and went to sleep. Once familiar with this it was possible to estimate the general time of day. So Hiccup used this and went down to the Cavern some time before sundown; some time before Salistus intended to show off to his nest. Only Sclepus was down there. The Night Fury greeted him cordially, and Hiccup was so relieved by what he saw in the lake that he was just as pleasant.

" **Evening, Sclepus. That's an unamu greeting. Say now, what's that in the water**?" he reached out and began pulling the barrels one by one to the lake edge. " **What have we here**?"

" **I don't know** ," Sclepus said curiously, " **I've never seen anything like these**."

" **They're called barrels**." Hiccup explained innocently, " **We umanu make them to hold things. We can put liquids, foods, and pretty much anything else that will fit in them. These ones have…** " he pried off a lid and did a double take. " **Milk**?" Of all the drinks his friends could have stolen, they had stolen barrels of _milk_? It was not what he had been expecting, but it would have to do. He began pulling off the other lids quickly. As he did so he tipped a vial hidden up his sleeve so its contents dripped into the milk. " **Yep. They're all milk barrels**."

" **What would barrels of milk be doing out at sea**?" asked Menomem suspiciously. She had entered the Cavern with her children while Hiccup had been fishing out the barrels. Toothless slowly came in behind them.

" **I don't know. Merchant ships sometimes carry them** ," Hiccup suggested with a shrug.

" **That's it then** ," Sclepus said. " **A ship must have sunk nearby and some of the wreck ended up floating through our fish tunnel**."

" **That** _ **has**_ **happened before every now and then. But we've never seen these barrels float in here.** " said a Night Fury who had the unbelievable name of Pokoventiopinitrep. Menomem grudgingly agreed with him. She had been trying to detect a connection between the barrels and Hiccup.

Salistus could hardly have cared less about a few barrels. " **Well? Where's my armor**?" he demanded impatiently. Other Night Furies were starting to file into the Cavern.

Hiccup smiled benignly. " **The last coat of polish is drying, my Alepha. It will take a little time, but rest assured you'll be wearing it before the yellow stone rises again**."

The Alpha was displeased by the delay but reassured, so he took his place in the center of the Night Furies. Agaruba and Menomem stood on his flanks. All of the Night Furies had arrived and were looking around expectedly for someone to tell them what was going on.

" **Meantime** ," Hiccup said loudly so everyone could hear him, " **While we're waiting, I have something to say. Since Emaracluse and I are going to be here for the rest of our lives, we might as well all get along and be happy about it! And since we've got these barrels of milk here, and there'll likely be fish in the water soon enough, why don't we have a party? A celebration of our future together, and of our Alepha's glorious new suit of armor!"**

Most of the dragons had never had milk before, so they went over to the barrels, sniffing curiously. But Agaruba leapt in front of them. " **Careful! The milk may be poisoned! Maybe not by that umanu, but others may have poisoned them!** "

" **Well then, allow me** ," Hiccup replied confidently. He cupped his hands and drank some milk from each barrel. Everyone watched but nothing happened.

" **There's nothing wrong with them!** " laughed Salistus, " **Drink up, everyone**!" His hoah discretely nudged him. " **After your Alepha, I mean, of course**!"

Hiccup laughed and the others joined in. The Alpha at first looked offended, and his mother even more so, but he suddenly laughed even louder, called for them to drink and catch some fish, and went to sit with Hiccup.

" **So is my armor beautiful**?"

" **As the white stone is when it's a perfect circle, my Alepha** ," Hiccup replied happily, " **I'll go check on it soon. It should be dry by then. Perhaps if you want I can make you some more suits too. You know, for special occasions**."

" **An excellent idea**!"

" **Heck, since I'm going to be here forever, I could probably make you one for every day of the year**!" Hiccup laughed and the Alpha laughed back. They looked more like two drinking companions than a human and a dragon ruler.

" **He's in a very good mood tonight** ," muttered Menomem suspiciously. Hiccup turned to her.

" **Like I said, since I'm stuck here, I might as well enjoy myself and get to know you guys better. What good will it do any of us to be miserable and disagreeable? We all want a happy community, don't we**?"

" **I suppose so** ," Menomem grumbled.

" **Of course we do!"** Salistus cried, **"A happy and safe community!"**

" **Here here**!" Toothless agreed.

" **And good stuff to drink, too**!" the female Kalitalavook said. " **This milk is really tasty, you know**."

" **Can I have some more**?" asked Nen, one of the Night Fury hatchlings. Already his words sounded a little slurred and disoriented.

" **Let the rest of the world be miserable and helpless**!" Hiccup chimed in, " **there's no law that says we have to be too! But you know what? We need some music. It's not a party without a song**!"

" **A what**?"

" **A song! You know, making sounds to a rhythm**?"

" **Oh that. Of course, I knew about that. I was just testing to see how much you knew**." The Alpha said hastily. " **And I suppose you have one in mind**?"

" **It's perfectly fitting** ," Hiccup grinned, " **it's a song from my old home, used for occasions like this. I'll have to sing in Norse, though:**

" _Well ho-ho let's have a mug of Mead_

 _That's the thing we really need_

 _Here's a toast to your good fortune_

 _And a hope you will succeed_

 _Don't sit and shrug_

 _Fill up your mug_

 _And gulp it down_

 _Here's to our tomorrows_

 _Shove aside the sorrows_

 _And wipe away the frown!"_

" **But this isn't—what did you call it? Mead? Yes, this is milk!"** a female named Monarvom exclaimed.

" **Fortunately, the next verse can be altered to fix that!"** Hiccup replied,

" _Well ho-ho let's have some milk, that's right_

 _To our warriors who fight_

 _With our enemies all day long_

 _So we can sleep safe at night!_

 _So pour it out_

 _And cheer and shout_

 _Like ne'er before!_

 _Here's to our tomorrows_

 _Shove aside the sorrows_

 _And pour for us some more!"_

" _ **Here's to our tomorrows**_

 _ **Shove aside the sorrows**_

 _ **And pour for us some more**_!" the Dragons chorused cheerfully. Some were starting to look groggy, though Hiccup thought if they had been perfectly fine their singing voices would have still sounded awful. Night Furies could not sing if their lives depended on it.

" _Well ho-ho let's have a glass of wine_

 _Such a thing would be quite fine_

 _To the Freya's in mortal form_

 _For whom all the young lads pine!_

 _They look so fair_

 _With golden hair_

 _And eyes of blue…"_

Here his voice trailed off for a moment and he only sang the next lines halfheartedly.

" _Here's to our tomorrows_

 _Shove aside the sorrows_

 _And have a glass or two!"_

" **One more time**!" the Alpha slurred. He was clearly having trouble talking but the others did not notice. They were all looking disoriented and dizzy. His command was obeyed unenthusiastically and nobody sang more than five words, but Hiccup burst into another verse.

" _Well ho-ho let's have another round_

 _And let the praises abound!_

 _Don't let one mug remain empty_

 _Long as there's drink to be found_

 _Be of good cheer_

 _Good times draw near_

 _Bright as the sun_

 _Here's to our tomorrows_

 _Shove aside the sorrows_

 _And show them how it's done!_

 _Here's to our tomorrows_

 _Shove aside the sorrows_

 _And thank you, ev'ry one_!"

As he sang, the Night Furies began to languidly flop onto the ground. Some started snoring, others were drooling.

Hiccup sighed and went over to Toothless. His best friend was struggling to stay awake.

Toothless had guessed Hiccup was up to something when he saw the barrels but he had intentionally acted like everyone else, joining in the singing when ordered and drinking up. Hiccup came over to him and lifted his head up so they could make eye contact. It took some effort for the drugged Night Fury to focus on him, and they both knew his concentration would not last long.

" **I'm so sorry, Bud. I've got to go now. I need human help if I'm going to get you out of here. That probably will mean dealing with Viggo first. But if I don't make it…I hope you'll be happy with your own kind. Just watch out for that future mother-in-law of yours."**

" **Don't wanna be without..."** Toothless slobbered.

" **You know that stuff doesn't wash out,"** Hiccup said hoarsely. He wanted to say more, but Toothless was not coherent anymore, and in any case he had to go. The dragons would not be asleep forever and he needed a good head start.

After one final regretful look he hurried over to his cave, picked up his bag, and ran into the tunnel.

It felt great to breathe fresh air and see the stars again, but he was still horribly depressed that he had left Toothless behind. The first dragon he saw was Evictus the Timberjack. There were about 10 dragons in the group, including a Whispering Death and a

" **Oh thank goodness, Hiccup**!" the dragon exclaimed, " **We've been going crazy looking for you! You've gotta help us, Viggo's taken over Berk, Astrid's gone to spy on him, and how'd you even get out of there, what's down there, what's going on, where have you—**?"

" **Whoa, whoa, whoa, slow down Evictus** ," Hiccup laughed bitterly. " **One thing at a time. And first of all let's get away from here as quickly as we can**."

Stormfly came rushing over to them. " **But where's Toothless**?"

" **He's got something else that needs doing**." Hiccup said evasively, " **We'll be back for him, don't worry. Now, whatever is going on, you can explain it as we fly. We need a big head start and—** " He froze in his tracks. Snotlout Jorgenson was stumbling towards the group. He was a mess. His face had the starting bristles of a beard, he was covered in dirt and noticeably thinner, he looked like he had not washed in days, and his eyes were feverish and bloodshot. He moved more like an ape than a human, and his whole body was trembling, and with good reason, for Hiccup looked ready to attack him.

"Hello, Snotlout," he said coldly.

It took some effort for his cousin to speak and when he did he sounded unusually timid. "Hiccup, I—"

"Save it." He brushed past Snotlout and put his bag on Stormfly. "C'mon, let's get going,"

"G—going? Going where?"

"Back to Berk of course—or somewhere close to it if that's impossible,"

"But I—"

"NO TIME! Get on Hookfang and let's get moving!" he was already climbing onto Stormfly.

"But I—I don't know where he is!" Snotlout cried.

" **Hookfang got caught by hunters** ," Stormfly told Hiccup. He made a gestured to Evictus, and the Timberjack grabbed Snotlout and swung him onto his back and without another word the dragons leapt into the air. Yet Hiccup had never felt less happy to be flying.

" **Now** ," he said loudly after they had flown in silence for a while, " _ **What**_ **is going on**?"

Evictus spoke first. " **Viggo attacked Berk with a horde of Speed Stingers. A handful of us evaded them, but nobody else had a chance. He then had everyone loaded onto ships while they were frozen**."

Hiccup was amazed. " **One point to Viggo,** " he mumbled grudgingly, " **that was a pretty good plan. Only where'd he find a nest of Speed Stingers**?"

" **I think he found out about that nest we learned about from the Dragon Eye** ," Stormfly said. " **The one in Gaul? It's either that or he found a nest we know nothing about** ,"

" **Speaking of the Eye, I suppose he has it now**?"

" **And everything else on Berk if he wants it** ," Evictus said darkly.

" **Did no humans get out of there at** _ **all**_?"

The dragons had been wondering that too. " **We know Meatlug, Barf n' Belch, and their humans were not on Berk when the attack came. Whether they're still free or not, we don't know. Hookfang and Snotlout weren't there either, of course, but we didn't know where they were until we found Stormfly. We sent a few to look for aid while the rest of us flew here to find you. We have no idea how successful they've been, if at all**." Evictus informed him.

" **And my parents**?"

" **The last we saw of them your sire was being loaded onto one of the ships. We're assuming the same thing happened to your mother**." The Whispering Death said.

Hiccup nodded numbly. Having both of his parents as prisoners would make valuable hostages. And yet he found some hope in that. Doubtless his parents were already busily engaged in working out an escape plan. Perhaps they had already escaped.

Nobody in the group had any idea what had really happened.

Hiccup took a deep breath. He was doing everything he could to stay calm, even though everything he heard worried him exceedingly and he was terrified there was even worse new to come. " **All right. Berk fell. Everyone's going to be a slave or dead soon. So** _ **where is my wife**_?" he spoke very sharply.

Stormfly spoke. " **We were ambushed by hunters. It was on the very day we were searching this island**."

Hiccup felt a chill run down his spine again. " **And—and Astrid**?"

" **Oh she's alive**!" Stormfly said hastily. " **At least I—I think she is. Look, just hear me out. Some hunters found us. We were luring them away from you, and then Heather and that Razorwhip showed up**."

She explained quickly how Astrid had allowed herself to be taken prisoner by Heather to prove to the Hunters that Heather was on their side. By doing this they hoped that Heather would be wholly welcomed by the Hunters, which would give her a better chance to spy on Viggo. Astrid had also agreed so she could get the hunters away from Hiccup. Far from being impressed, Hiccup was downright furious about this idea and instantly pointed out how it left too much to chance.

" **What makes you think Viggo will give Heather more chances to spy on him? He'll probably see through the whole scheme the instant he hears about it!** "

" **Well she didn't have much time to think about it**!" Stormfly cried.

" **And where were you this whole time**?" he demanded. " **Where do you figure into all of this**?"

" **I was fighting with that Razorwhip! Astrid told me to find you once it was safe, and then we would follow the hunters in secret! Heather said they would probably put her in the cells in Viggo's Headquarters! My guess is she and Astrid expected us to sneak into that place, join up with them, and then capture Viggo**!"

" **So she let herself get caught to help Heather and see what they could learn, in the expectations that I would soon help them escape**? **Well that sure is going swimmingly.** "

" **It was a spur of the moment plan. Nobody had the time to refine it. She just wanted to divert attention away from you, and ordered me to tell you all of this! But I couldn't find you! The trail led me to a cave wall and then I couldn't go any further! I couldn't clear the passage until help arrived. Then the Whispering Death pointed out that the blockage had not happened naturally—in other words, we thought someone may have done this intentionally to keep you trapped. So we first made a small hole and sent Sharpshot to snoop around before we did anything drastic."**

Hiccup glanced at his cousin. Stormfly understood what he was going to ask next and said " **After finding the blocked passage I searched elsewhere on the island. I found him pretty soon but he ran from me. I don't know why, but after the third time he ran I decided to let him alone. I was too preoccupied with trying to find you**."

" **And where did Evictus and the others come from? How'd they find us**?"

" **They followed Hookfang's trail south. I ran into them about a day's flight from here. I thought maybe you and Toothless had already started for Berk**."

Hiccup sighed. So Viggo had moved against Berk and captured it, while at the same time some hunters had followed Snotlout south. These hunters had captured Astrid, who went with them hoping to help Heather's spying and to get them away from him. Meantime, he had been captured by dragons and prevented from learning about any of this until a group from Berk had arrived. He still had to find a way to free Toothless from those dragons. And there was still the issue of that bounty on him. This chain of circumstances was crazy and horribly unlucky, to put it mildly. But when you had groups spread over thousands of leagues a serious lack of coordination and communication had to be expected. " **All right. We're heading north and when we get close to home we're sending out messengers.** "

" **Now tell** _ **us**_ **something** ," Evictus said, " **What happened to you? And what was the point of us taking those milk barrels**?"

" **Let's just say we were held captive by dragons. I slipped Nadder Venom into the milk and tricked them into drinking it. As you all know, that venom in small doses puts you to sleep. But that means we've only got so much time before they wake up, so we've got to hurry.** "

" **And Toothless**?" the Whispering Death asked as he increased his wing beats.

" **I'll explain later** ," the Dragon King said grimly.

Snotlout had no idea of what had been said this whole time. In the past he would have gotten angry but this time he was focusing too much on his own thoughts. He knew sooner or later he would have to talk to Hiccup, and he was terrified about what Hiccup would say to him, because he knew whatever he said was going to be true. And how badly he wished it was otherwise! He had been seeing that moment in his head all this time; over and over again he relieved the moment where he pushed Hiccup off that rock, intending to kill him. He could almost feel the guilt eating away at his body like a maggot. And the longer he waited to talk the worse it got.

At last, with sunrise not far off, the dragons landed somewhere on the African coast. They chose the spot with care, but Hiccup was confident that the Night Furies would not dare journey much by day. It was perhaps the only thing he was confident about. He stepped away from the dragons looking dazed, trying to wrap his head around what was going on and what he was going to do about it.

Snotlout nervously approached him.

"Well?"

Snotlout began crying at once. "Hiccup—I'm so, so sorry!"

Hiccup rubbed his shoulder absentmindedly. "What is it with my family members trying to kill me?"

"I swear, I didn't mean it, I didn't—" Snotlout would have thrown himself at Hiccup's feet and begged for forgiveness and Hiccup saw this, for he stepped back a bit and coolly gestured to Snotlout's appearance.

"Have you been living alone this whole time?"

Snotlout grinned feebly. "Yeah,"

"Seriously?"

"Taking part in Astrid's survival training classes paid off, it turns out. Not that it was easy. I wandered around for days and couldn't find anyone. I thought you had all left me to die, and I was about ready to give up and let it happen, when I saw the dragons arrive."

"Lucky us," Hiccup said shortly.

"So what's going on? I don't know dragonese…"

"Berk has fallen and our tribe's being sold into slavery." Horrible as it was, he grimly enjoyed seeing Snotlout's stunned face. "You might as well go get some food and sleep. We've got a long journey ahead of us." He turned away, wanting to be left alone to his thoughts. But Snotlout was too surprised to let him be.

"You—you want me to come with you? After what I did? After I—?"

"Betrayed me? Attacked me over petty jealousies you knew nobody could ever fix for you? Pushed me off a ledge and left me to die?" he whipped around furiously and struck Snotlout in the jaw. Snotlout fell to the ground with a whimper. Hiccup was shouting now. "You let me down, Snotlout! For the umpteenth time you failed me! After all this time you've shown you're no more mature than you were when we were children! And thanks to your coming after us, Astrid and Hookfang are now prisoners, if they're even still alive! If you have the nerve to wonder now why I haven't trusted you with important matters, you're even dumber and more pathetic than I thought!"

"Then why do you want me to come with you?" Snotlout cried. Tears were starting to come into his eyes. Hiccup realized he had never seen his cousin cry before today, not even when Spitelout had died. The sight of tears made him calm down slightly, as did knowing angry words would not help right now. "Why? Because as a blacksmith, I have to use what tools I have, not what I wish I had. Now go get cleaned up, have something to eat, and get some sleep."

Snotlout nodded numbly. But before he could go Hiccup grabbed him by the neck and pulled him so close that their faces were almost touching.

"Oh, and Snotlout? This is your final warning. If you try to kill me again, you'd better make sure you succeed or I will personally treat you to the Blood Eagle the next time I see you."


	34. Chapter 34

**I Own Nothing**

 **All Rights Reserved**

 **Chapter 34**

 **Summoning Friends**

Although Bertha had denied Fishlegs military aid, she decided that sheltering some lost and weary travelers was something else and discretely allowed the Thorstens, Eret, and the Zippleback to stay on the island. After what had just happened with their cousin, the Thorsten Twins were willing to be more inconspicuous—by default at any rate.

As for Eret, he at first was outraged he had been kidnapped by the Twins, but soon decided that, under the circumstances, this was the best he could possibly hope for. Had he not been longing to get away from Viggo for some time now? Now he had gotten away from him.

Of course, there was greater danger for him now. If Viggo won this conflict, Eret could not hope for any mercy. But because it was now in Eret's best interests that Viggo should not win, he suddenly found himself much more immersed in what the Dragon King (and Ruffnut Thorsten) had said about Dragons.

When he managed to get away from Ruffnut's prying hands one afternoon, he watched the Bog Burglars interacting with their dragons. The sight reminded him of horses; not grizzled and unkempt horses that pulled carts and ploughs, but the sleek and groomed kind that would pull an Emperor's chariot and sleep in stables more luxurious than most bedrooms. The Bog Burglars treated them like pets to an extent, but also like symbols of status and pride, not mere beasts of burden. The children in the tribe, for while the tribe was dominated by women there were a handful of men amongst them, were playing with Terrible Terrors as they would play with cats or ducks.

He had always known that the Dragon King had been trying to integrate dragons into other tribes, but he had never really seen the results until now. He tried to get a little closer, but both the children and dragons moved away from him.

"They don't trust you," Bertha had been watching him.

"Is it because I'm a stranger or because they know I'm a hunter?"

"I can't speak for the dragons but for my people it's both."

"But your tribe used to hunt and kill dragons too!" Eret pointed out.

"A fact we're not proud of, yet we still stand by our reasons and excuses. But we don't kill them anymore, and because of that they trust us."

Eret shrugged. "I've hardly ever killed a dragon, believe it or not. I've trapped scores them, but usually someone else did the actual killing. But I suppose that still counts, doesn't it?"

"The man who sold the poison is just as responsible for a death as the man who planted it."

Eret walked away, thinking deeply. Her words had been aimed at his hunting, but he felt they also applied to the sacking of Berk. He might not have done much that night, but he had still sat back and let it happen. He had had no choice; Viggo would have killed him had he stood up to him. Yet at the moment he did not feel his life was really worth saving. Good Gods, he had just stood around and let it happen, and what was he doing to try and set things right?

There was one thing he could do at any rate.

He pulled a fine dagger from his belt, walked to the beach and threw it into the sea. Thuggory joined him.

"Was that meant to be symbolic or something?"

Eret said, "It was a gift from one of my old patrons. A reward for bringing in the most dragons in a single haul. It was a thing to be proud of in the old days, but now…well, it's only a piece of sharpened metal." He looked around warily. "And what are you doing around here? Had enough of Camicazi for one afternoon?"

"Yeah," Thuggory admitted. They made their way down the beach like two friends taking a casual stroll, "I just don't get it! I've known plenty of beautiful women, yet something about that girl always makes me so nervous and she likes seeing me that way, so she keeps at it and—AUGH! It tears me apart, the way she acts around me!"

"Tell me about it," Eret grumbled, "As soon as Ruffnut Thorsten sees me she'll chase me shouting all kinds of stupid love glop and once she gets a hold of me I have to use all my strength to pry her off."

"Women. The second they see a handsome face and a muscular torso they get all silly. I tell ya, Eret, we're sure in a fix—oh no, here they come—quick, hide!"

They darted behind some boulders. Sure enough, Ruffnut and Camicazi came walking past.

"I just don't get it!" Ruffnut was complaining in exasperation. "Every time I go near him he moves away from me!"

"Men," Cami said sympathetically, "They always crave attention until they actually get it and then they find they can't handle it." The Snow Demon Midnight was behind her and repeatedly looking up anxiously at the sky. "Thuggory's always trying to stay away from me too. I mean, here's a man who's known several women, and yet for some reason whenever I get near him he goes red and starts blushing and can't form sentences! And he's awfully cute when that happens, so I like to get near him as often as I can."

"Oh that's it, is it?" Thuggory whispered indignantly. Eret made a hurried motion for him to be quiet, lest the girls hear them.

"Does it bother you that he's 'known several women'?" Ruffnut asked.

She waved a hand dismissively. "Meh. Brief lapses in judgment. Besides, it means he's had plenty of practice and knows what works and what doesn't."

Ruffnut felt a little warm all of a sudden. "Say, is something bothering Midnight?"

"I don't know…" Cami frowned, " **What's up**?"

" **Persephone went out for a flight earlier and she hasn't come back yet. It's almost nightfall**!"

Camicazi decided to go flying with Midnight and see if they could find her. Ruffnut decided to head back and see if she could find Eret again. The two men waited behind their boulder for a while before deciding it was safe to come out. They breathed freely again.

A few deep magenta clouds surrounded the sun in the winter twilight. The ocean looked like a sea of pink paint. This only partially reassured Midnight and Camicazi, for while it meant Persephone was unlikely to have been captured because she would blend right in with the scenery, it also meant they were equally unlikely to see her. Midnight had to rely on her sense of smell and luckily for her, since Persephone ate fruit she often smelled like greengages.

And then they saw a dragon, but it was not Persephone. This dragon was green, and Midnight's mouth fell opened when she realized who it was.

" **Shamrock! Shamrock, over here**!"

" **As I live and die, Midnight at Twilight**!" the Treejumper laughed once he was close enough. " **Whew! It's been quite a flight! We came as fast as we could**."

" **We**?" Shamrock gestured with his tail to the west and they sped there. Most people would have been confused but Camicazi took it in stride, certain that in a few minutes her questions would be answered easily.

They approached a cluster of small islands and sea stacks. On these islands, with hardly enough room for them, was a huge flock of dragons. Several sea stacks had so many Treejumpers on them the rocks looked like they were covered in moving plants. But there were more than just the Treejumpers. Typhoomerangs, Scuttleclaws, Snow Wraiths, Snow Demons, and a multitude of other species were also present. Off the coast of one island large bubbles rose and burst from the ocean, implying something very large was underwater. It was the Treejumper colony and the nest from Greenland. Midnight had not seen such diversity since the Sanctuary had been destroyed and Camicazi for once was speechless and not by choice.

Most of the dragons were simply drinking, eating fish, and resting. And on one rock Cloudjumper, with Valka Haddock sitting on his back, was talking with Persephone.

" **Midnight**!" Persephone cried, " **I went to soar in the sunset and see what I've found**!"

"How is this even possible?" Camicazi asked, grinning broadly, "Never mind! We've got an army now! Mom can't stop a fight with Viggo now!"

"Why would she?" Valka asked sharply, leaping nimbly off Cloudjumper and grabbing Camicazi by the shoulders. "What's happened?"

Cami quickly explained their meeting with Fishlegs. "But this changes everything!"

"Have you heard anything about Hiccup?" Just about every dragon in that group had been asking the same question, and the answers were all the same: no.

Valka pointed to Shamrock and a Changewing named Alternatia. "We were flying back from Greenland when we ran into the Treejumpers with the same intention. I had no idea Hiccup was friends with them. Alternatia had gone to them for help."

" **And it wasn't hard to get** ," the Changewing muttered to Midnight, " **The way they talk you'd think fighting is the happiest thing in the world, by golly**!"

Nor had she only brought the nest of Treejumpers. Deafpool the Thunderdrum and Trachyte the Eruptodon were in the group too.

" **We heard the news from some passing dragons and came to help**!" Trachyte said cheerfully to Midnight.

" **A Thunderdrum does not desert those in need of his assistance, even if they be Merfolk on two legs who implausibly sit upon dragon backs and fly like the white screechers**!" the Thunderdrum declared proudly. By white screechers he meant seagulls.

" **But first they have to be reminded they owe their lives 'to those in need** ,'" Trachyte muttered.

Camicazi wanted to bring them all back to her island at once, but Valka quickly pointed out that the sudden arrival of so many dragons would heavily tax the Bog Burglar's resources and patience. Besides, Valka did not really trust the Bog Burglars (the better-than-cordial relations between their tribes had not really started until after her disappearance), and she was unwilling to take everyone in case of traps. So it was decided Valka would bring some of the Dragons and they would go have a long talk with Bertha and the Twins.

Things were less joyful in Grimmige Festung. Astrid looked up and said dully, "Right on time,"

Viggo's servant snorted as she brought in the rations for the day. "Did you expect anything else?"

Astrid had decided to try the direct approach today. "So what's in Viggo's account books?"

The servant snorted again. "You think I know? I'm not allowed to even touch that chest! That's what he said on my first day on the job: never touch the ebony chest if you value your life!"

"Talking about me?"

The servant whipped around. Her master was standing in the doorway, arms folded against his chest.

"Sir, I—"

"Quiet, you. Ah, my dear Astrid, I cannot change what you have heard, but as you're never getting out of here, it does not matter how much you know." He stroked his beard thoughtfully. "Excuse me, but I must remind someone what happens when they say too much."

"Sir, I—"

Viggo just grabbed her arm and pulled her down the corridor, out of Astrid's sight and hearing.

In another part of the Archipelago, after night had fallen, Snotlout looked around nervously. "So this is the Sanctuary? You've never taken me here before, you know that?"

"Of course I know that," Hiccup retorted, "Even after it was destroyed, I kept its location secret because I thought it would make a good hideout." He walked so swiftly that Snotlout had trouble keeping up.

"Didn't Adoncia know where it was? Wouldn't she have told Viggo?"

"At the time I didn't know she was working with Viggo. I didn't even know of him then. Happy days. But she never told Drago who I really was, even though she knew long before he did, so it's possible she kept some things from her next master also. That's the kind of person she was."

The Sanctuary was a mere shell of what it had used to be. The whole island looked dead, and more like a broken down fortress than an island. It was eerily quiet there. The moon was shining, so the rocks were black with faint blue outlines. There was not a sound to be heard or a sign of movement anywhere. It was like being in a cave, only with the roof missing in most places.

"I never thought it would look like this," Snotlout remarked, "I always thought it would look more…well, prettier."

"It did, at one time," Hiccup said heavily as he climbed over a rock. "All right, we'll stop here,"

He looked around. They were in the old throne room. The roof was gone now, along with a wall, and the floor was broken up. He picked up a stone and saw a few carvings etched into it. "This belonged to a map of the world we had made," he said reflectively, "my room was in that direction, and the room Astrid stayed in was down that way. You know, this was where she met Stormfly for the first time. And she thought our torches were made from human bones," he smiled sadly.

"So…what exactly are we doing here?" Snotlout asked uncertainly.

Hiccup looked at the sky. "We're waiting for company. It'll probably be a while."

While they waited Snotlout decided to wander around a bit. Only one or two passages were traversable now, so he picked a sloping one. It descended for a hundred meters or so and led to a wall with a round opening. At one time this passage probably had looked almost man-made, but now it was a wreck of its former self. Snotlout poked his head through the opening, raised his torch, and saw a great pile of gold, silver, jewels, ornamental objects like candlesticks and goblets, all gilded and dazzling in the firelight. He was so awed by the sight he could hardly breathe.

"I'd prefer it if you didn't take anything. We're going to need all of it later."

Snotlout jumped. He had not realized Hiccup was behind him. "You weren't kidding when you said you were rich."

"No, I wasn't. It's one more reason for why I kept this place secret even after it became uninhabitable. When we settled here I wanted to live with as little human interaction as possible, but now and then I needed things that could only be acquired from humans—like leather. So I asked aquatic dragons to search underwater wrecks and bring up any chests they found. And some Smothering Smokebreaths wanted a proper nest so they moved in."

"How'd this room survive?"

"Aside from the Smokebreaths, none of the dragons cared about this room. Oh they helped make it and fill it, but only because I asked. Dragons have no concept of money and, with a few exceptions, don't place any value in pretty metals and rocks. Their currency would be food, if they used that sort of thing. So when the Sanctuary was being destroyed, nobody gave any thought to this room." He stepped inside and filled a bag with some jewels and coins. "This trove helped us rebuild Berk after the battle with Drago and helped pay for our trip to Greenland. No doubt we'll need the rest after we get this mess with Viggo straightened out." He turned around, "And if my ears don't deceive me, our company has arrived."

They returned to the old throne room and saw Meatlug coming in for a landing at the other end of it. The Whispering Death was right behind her. Fishlegs slid off the Gronkle, rushed for Hiccup and threw his arms around him.

"Oh thank Thor, I have never been so glad to see you, Hiccup!"

"I'm happy to see you too, Fish," Hiccup said awkwardly.

"Where's Toothless?" Fishlegs asked anxiously, "Has anyone seen or heard from the Twins? Snotlout, what are you doing here? Where have you been?"

"I've been—well—"

"He decided to join us on our little excursion," Hiccup said quickly, sitting down on a rock in the shadows, "we ran into some hunters. They've got Astrid and Hookfang."

"I know. Heather told me. Any word about the Twins?"

"None,"

" **Oh this gets worse every day**!" Meatlug moaned, " **What are we going to do**?"

"I don't—hey, Hiccup, you've grown a new leg!"

Hiccup laughed humorlessly. "No, I just modified a boot so my prosthetic attaches to it. I figured mercenaries who don't know me by sight will be looking for a man with a fake leg. All the posters mention it. So with a boot and pant legs covering it, and a few alterations to my face, nobody will realize I'm a wanted man." In addition to the boot he had cut up his hair, not shaved since the Isle of Night, had dirtied his face, and wore an eye patch the few times he had gone near settlements. To the casual passerby he looked like a drab and disheveled one eyed peasant, not the Dragon King. "It won't work forever, of course, but it hopefully won't need to." He turned to the Whispering Death. " **You and the others go get some rest. You've earned it, and we've probably got more long days ahead**."

" **What about your safety**?"

" **Meatlug and Stormfly will keep watch for now. Go get some sleep. You've done enough for one day.** "

"So what are we waiting for now?" Snotlout asked. He was still voicing his question when Windshear landed with Heather on her back.

"Evening," she said grimly, "You guys look...healthy, I suppose,"

Hiccup inclined his head a little. "You sure nobody will know you came here?"

"Viggo thinks I'm out with Dagur searching for you. And technically, it's perfectly true, just not for the reasons he thinks."

"Haven't you usually gone out with Ryker for that?" Fishlegs asked.

"Yes, but I knew I couldn't give Ryker a good excuse for any absence this time, so I decided I needed Dagur to come instead. Apparently Ryker doesn't like crushed hazelnuts sprinkled on his chicken. It made his throat swell up and he had to lie down. It was Dagur's idea."

"Is Dagur on our side?" Snotlout asked, puzzled.

She shook her head tiredly. "I have no idea. Sometimes I think _he_ doesn't even know whose side he's on. He once told me he sometimes feels ready to hug me, other times he feels ready to gut me, and sometimes he feels ready to do both at the same time while reciting an epic with his eyes crossed! He found the idea intriguing."

"Well, they don't call him Dagur the Deranged for nothing," Fishlegs replied with a shudder.

"No they don't. So sit down and tell me _exactly_ what's been going on here." Hiccup said.

"Don't you know?" Fishlegs asked in surprise.

"We've heard a few things but nothing in detail," Snotlout explained. It was true more for him than for Hiccup, though he was still in the dark on some matters. "Where's Hookfang?"

Heather spoke, "I'm sorry, Snotlout, but there was nothing I could do about it. He was caught while I was staging a fight with Astrid. He's locked up with the others in Viggo's fortress right now. All the dragons there are being used on the Dragon Eye. Viggo's trying to get all the information he can from what he has. He's got big plans for when the weather gets better and his ships return. Astrid's being kept in Ryker's room."

"Is she all right?" Hiccup asked hoarsely. "They haven't—tortured her or anything, have they?"

"Dagur said it would be pointless to torture her unless you were present to watch. Viggo agreed. She told me Hognose tried to rape her but she strangled him while still chained up. I swear, if we had ten thousand like her, we could conquer the world."

Everybody looked amazed. Hiccup's smile was grim and fleeting.

Heather continued. "So Ryker keeps her in his room, but he doesn't know she can pick the locks to her chains. I wish I'd had that when I was an Outcast prisoner. You guys have gotta alter my clothes to hide picklocks one of these days."

"And she's been snooping around Viggo's headquarters?" Hiccup asked.

"As well as she can." Heather frowned. "It's not exactly easy snooping when you're a prisoner, but between her, me, and a few other contacts, we know more than Viggo thinks we do. She said to tell you she's really sorry that all of this happened, but she hopes you'll understand what she's doing."

Hiccup swallowed. "Will you tell her from me that I do understand?" He understood, but he was not happy about it either.

Heather smiled. "Of course I will. And I'll tell her all the things I can tell you want to say to her but don't have the guts to say to me." She looked at Hiccup rather excitedly, as if eager to tell him something, but she seemed to hold back and instead handed him some slips of parchment. "Here, these might help you. They're maps of Viggo's fortress and some other places. I found some of them in Draccus Grimborn's bedroom, stuffed in a pillow. Evidently Viggo never had the time or interest to search his brother's room after his death."

"What's this one? Barren Island? How's that relevant?"

"Astrid discovered that. We think it's where Viggo houses his wealth. It's an island a little ways away from his fortress."

"Where is this fortress anyway?" Snotlout asked.

Fishlegs spoke up. "I can answer that. Your plan worked, Hiccup. We let a dragon get caught and followed him. They took us to a place called 'Grimmige Festung.' It's a fortress on the coast of Norway."

"Nice name," Hiccup commented as he skimmed through the parchments. "Are there any hostages in this place besides Astrid?"

Heather nodded. "Most of your tribe and their dragons are being shipped away as slaves—oh, guys, I'm really sorry,"

The three men exchanged uneasy glances. Hiccup said "Just keep talking. Don't spare our feelings any."

"Right. So, Viggo's shipping—like I said, but he's kept a handful in his fortress as insurance against an attack. The humans are kept in cells, and the dragons are to use on the Dragon Eye. But get this: he keeps ledgers full of information on all his ships, how much they're carrying and where they're going and so forth."

"He's not one to be cheated," Hiccup remarked.

"Right. And these ledgers will have all the information on the ships carrying the Berkians, so if we can get our hands on them—"

"We could track down every ship and save everyone!" Snotlout cried eagerly.

Hiccup had thought of the same thing but shook his head glumly. "It won't be that easy, Snotlout. Viggo will be expecting us to try and save the captives so he'll be prepared for an infiltration. Still, does anyone know where are these ledgers kept?"

Heather's face fell. "I don't know. They're somewhere in his room, I think. From what I can learn, nobody knows for sure except Viggo,"

"Figures," Snotlout said, looking crestfallen.

"It gets even better," Fishlegs said bitterly, "After what Viggo did to Berk, everyone's been crazy with fear. Every tribe I've gone to, asking for help, has turned me down. They're all afraid Viggo will come for them next. I got lots of dragons from Denmark, but that's all."

"Have any tribes joined him?" Hiccup asked.

Heather nodded. "I saw a fleet of ships making for Grimmige Festung when I left it. They'll probably patrol the area to await your counterattack—you're going to make one, right?"

Hiccup looked at the wall. "Who's joined him?"

Fishlegs was miserable. "The Meatheads and a few of the smaller tribes. It's not as large as Drago's army, I think, but it's still considerable. And he's now sending out orders, promising safety in return for doing business with him. He's going to reopen Dragon Hunting again, and since everyone knows what he did to Berk, they'll agree to his offers. And even worse, word has come from Rome that all Christians who help a dragon, or us, will be excommunicated. Apparently Viggo's got them thinking he's working for their best interests."

"I know. My wanted posters have made it further south and fragments of Viggo's letter are being posted with it. I was tempted to visit the Pope to try and get him to back off, but I decided he'd probably ignore me and the detour wasn't time effective." Hiccup tapped his finger on a rock. "So is _anyone_ on our side?"

"The Defenders are!" Heather said at once, "I know there aren't many of us, but we're all ready to fight Viggo to the death. Queen Mala opted to wait to see what you would do, before implementing a plan of her own. A plan to murder Viggo in his own bed. That's one of the main reasons I was sent to spy on him. I know where his room is, but I haven't been in it yet. But if you want us to put it into action—"

"It's too limited," Hiccup said, "No, we've got to make it so that there's no power left to seize when the Grimborns leave the picture."

"How?" Snotlout asked.

"I'm working on it, but I need more information. Are there any humans besides the Defenders we can count on?"

"The Bog Burglars," Fishlegs said, "Like Mala, Bertha's waiting to see what you'll do. She's playing it safe until then. Some other tribes are too. You could probably persuade them if you've got a good plan."

"How about dragons?" Snotlout asked, "How many do we have?"

Fishlegs looked around nervously. "No offense guys, but you won't reveal what you can't reveal, so just in case either of you two get captured…" he whispered something in Hiccup's ear. Hiccup did not respond. Instead he looked over the parchment once again.

"The answers all seem to be inside this Grimmige Festung. And it's being surrounded by a fleet and warriors…" they could almost see the wheels of his brain in motion as he thought of how to deal with these problems. "All right. It's time to gather our friends. Snotlout, fill several bags with money; we'll need it soon. Fish, you send out the Terror Scouts we have. I'll prepare the message for them in a minute. Heather, I need to send a message to your Defenders—and tell Astrid I love her and I need her to stand by and stay put for now." They all nodded and he pulled out a map. "Now, everybody, there's a tavern called the Red Unicorn on the island of—" he gave them the name and location. "Tell the leaders of every group you're positive is on our side of to meet me there 8 nights from tomorrow. The dragons will have to stay wherever they are for now. And for all our sakes—don't let those hunters find out about this!"

He called for one of the dragons. He was a Nadder named Glidregar.

" **I hate to ask this, but are you up for another journey? I've got an idea of someone who can help us, and you're the fastest dragon we've got right now**."

" **What can I do**?"

The King gave him instructions and the Nadder decided to take off at once, promising to be back as soon as possible.

"Where's he going?" Snotlout asked.

"Rammelsberg," was all that the King said. He abruptly shoved aside the maps and moved onto some personal questions he had wanted to ask since the beginning of this talk. "What about my parents? What are they doing? I didn't ask before because I thought you'd have told me already. I'm assuming my Dad's a hostage in the fortress, but what about my mother? Is she getting help from somewhere or is she in the fortress too?"

Heather and Fishlegs exchanged uneasy glances.

Hiccup looked at them sharply. "What?"

Fishlegs responded by taking a drink from his canteen. He offered some to Hiccup, who declined.

"It's good ale Hiccup; you might want a little," he said nervously.

Hiccup's hands curled into fists and he felt his stomach sink. He spoke very deliberately. "And what news do you have that requires a sip of ale before delivery?"

Tears came to the eyes of his friend. "I'm so sorry, Hiccup. The Chief is dead. They killed him after they took over Berk."

A lump came to Hiccup's throat. "You sure?"

"I returned to Berk a few days ago. I saw the body."

Hiccup abruptly stood up, leaning on the wall for support. "Maybe it was a dummy. Maybe he's faking his death…"

"No Hiccup, it wasn't a dummy…and he couldn't have faked a…a death like that,"

"Like what?"

Fishlegs drew a line across his throat. Hiccup's face contorted and he looked away. "And my mother?"

"I don't know," Fishlegs whimpered.

Hiccup jerked his head towards his cousin. "Well, Snotlout, we've both lost our fathers now, so I guess we're even. Hope you're satisfied for a change."

"Hiccup—"

"I'll be back," he turned away and disappeared.

Snotlout turned back to the others. "Is the Chief really dead?"

"Would I tell Hiccup something that horrible if it wasn't true?" Fishlegs cried.

"Maybe I should go and—"

"Let him be," Heather said softly. "Let him be for now."

The Dragon King climbed up to the highest point possible on the ruined cliffs. There, with the cold black night sky behind him, he turned so he faced the northeast. A wind picked up and blew through his hair but he ignored it. His hands were so tense they had the appearance of claws. His green eyes were lit with a rage such as he had never felt before. He looked down at the black abyss below him, feeling his anger rising like the waves that smashed into the cliffs, and he shouted "This is war, Viggo! Do you hear me? I'm coming for you! Fortify your castles, arm your men, load your bows, it won't be enough! If I have to take on the entire world to save my tribe I'll do it, and I'll start by finishing you off once and forever! BEG YOUR GODS FOR MERCY, BECAUSE YOU WON'T GET ANY FROM ME! DO YOU HEAR ME, VIGGO? THIS IS WAR!"


	35. Chapter 35

**I Own Nothing**

 **All Rights Reserved**

 **Chapter 35**

 **The Thing Takes Shape**

The Dragon King spent the coming days getting organized. A major problem was finding places for dragons to stay without getting spotted. The Sanctuary could hold a handful amidst its ruins, but he had more than a handful to deal with. So any dragons he needed on the spot stayed with him, while the rest went off to find other islands, a few here, a few there, nowhere to make it look suspicious.

Beyond that, the King had to organize his human allies. On his first morning at the Sanctuary he changed his plans around and sent Fishlegs to the Bog Burglars, Snotlout to the Defenders, and Terror Mail to the Owl Guts and a few other tribes. Within a few days the replies came in. Most of them _very_ politely declined to support him, though they also promised not to stand against him.

" **Hyenas waiting for the lion to bring down the wildebeest** ," he muttered.

Gort of the Owl Guts, one tribe which the King had hoped most of all would join him, explained he could not come because a hunter sympathizer had gotten all their Dragons sick from blue oleander flowers. The culprit had been caught and severely punished, but the only cure for the sickness was Scauldron Venom and the Owl Guts were having trouble finding one. The Dragon King had no intention of waiting, so he removed them from his shrinking list of allies.

But help arrived from unexpected places.

At the end of the sixth day, Snotlout returned to inform him the Defenders were ready and eagerly waiting to move against Viggo. Suddenly Snotlout pointed at the sky and they saw a large flock of dragons coming towards them.

The King was astonished. "Well I'll be—!"

"What is it?"

"It's the nest from Greenland! And look! Here come the Twins!"

"Should I cheer or hide the weapons?" Snotlout asked, trying to make them both smile. Neither of them had been too cheerful these past few weeks.

As soon as they landed the Twins leapt off their Zippleback to grab Hiccup and hug him.

"It's great to see you again, Fellow Disciple of Loki!"

"Where've you been?"

"Oh, it's been terrible! You wouldn't believe what we've been through!"

"And Snotlout's back too! Most of the gang back together then!"

"Yeah! The Dragon Riders are back in action!"

Hiccup was glad to see them but his focus turned to his mother. The dialogue coming from the Twins dried up. She approached her son slowly. Their eyes met and they both saw there was little to say to the other. She grabbed him in a fierce hug and began sobbing on his shoulder. It took all of Hiccup's self-restraint not to cry too.

Astrid was still chained up. She had not picked the locks for a day now, just in case anyone came by unexpectedly, and her fears were justified when the Grimborns came in abruptly. Ryker held a bloodstained whip.

"I need a new servant." Viggo remarked idly, "You didn't even know her name, did you, Astrid? I never used it myself. Names belong only to individuals. Ah well, we needn't worry about her anymore." He squatted so he could look Astrid square in the eye. "As I said before, it doesn't matter what you hear because you'll never get to tell it to anyone—especially now. And I'm not keeping you alive because Hiccup will come for you: he'd come for me now regardless of where you are. You're only alive because it is bad business to discard things before their usefulness has expired. Ryker, bring her with us."

Ryker forcefully dragged her to a room down below, perhaps a floor above the cells. Hookfang was chained up in this room, his wings hanging from the ceiling, his legs and tail strapped to the floor, and his mouth muzzled just tightly enough so he could not breathe fire. His back and limbs had long streaks of dried blood on them; evidence of many whippings. The Dragon Eye was positioned on a marble altar in front of his mouth. He was very surprised to see Astrid pushed into the room, so surprised that his expression betrayed him and Viggo could tell they knew each other.

"Just as I thought. This beast refuses to breathe into the Dragon Eye. It needs some persuasion. So…"

Astrid was dragged over to another part of the room and chained to the wall in plain sight of Hookfang. Ryker then walked over to a strange looking device in front of her. It was a large bolt elevated on a cart, rather like a battering ram or perhaps an overlarge drill. Visible below were numerous gears and cogs, and there was a handle attached to one. The bolt had dried blood crusted about its pointy tip, and was positioned and elevated so it was level with Astrid's chest.

"Remarkable, is it not? It's quite simple. There are 7 positions, and if I turn the handle to the left, this bolt will advance one position. If I turn it right, it will retreat one position. So, dragon, each time you refuse to breathe into the Dragon Eye, Ryker will turn the handle. After one refusal too many, the bolt will begin piercing Astrid's chest. Believe me, it's a very slow way to die." As a hunter carefully loosened Hookfang's muzzle, Viggo sat down at a desk and produced a piece of parchment and a quill. "Now, shall we see what wonders the Dragon Eye has for us, or shall we see what color Astrid's blood is? It is your decision, Nightmare."

" **I've got to submit to this** ," Hookfang rasped.

" **Don't worry about it** ," Astrid replied. " **He won't have this information for long**."

"Gag her and turn the wheel one position." Viggo ordered.

Hookfang roared in agony but began breathing into the Dragon Eye.

"Remarkable, isn't it?" said Viggo, "others believe they can withstand all sorts of pain, yet seeing just the hint of it inflicted upon someone else makes them give in at once. It's rather pathetic, but, I must confess, it is often useful for business."

"One day, Viggo, someone's going to ram those words down your throat," Astrid growled in spite of the gag in her mouth.

"Tighten that and turn the wheel again."

Night had fallen over the Sanctuary again. The Dragon King was sitting in a dark part of the ruins, so that he was barely visible. Valka was sitting opposite him, almost equally invisible. As she sharpened her staff he looked up at the sky.

"I sent most of the nest on, as you suggested,"

"Thanks. We can't support that many dragons here anymore."

"Let's just hope Viggo doesn't hear about this yet."

"Actually I almost hope he does," The King replied laconically. He looked up at the sky again, "Do you think the Gods really are up there?"

Valka paused in her work. "I don't know,"

He picked up a rock and began fiddling with it. "Well, when I die I'm going to have a few words with them about all this. Just when things were starting to improve for us, this happens. Hmm. Perhaps Dad's already asked them. Well, then when it's my turn they should have their answers ready." He threw on his mask so Valka could not see his face, but he could not entirely hide the emotion in his voice. "I'd also like to know what makes people like Viggo do such horrible things. Drago, I could understand a bit—I know he grew up in a land constantly at war and it hardened him to the point beyond caring for anyone but himself, but with Viggo…I just don't know. Was it greed? Isolation? Pride? Some combination of these? Was he born this way or did it happen gradually? What was it that made him so pitiless that he would wipe out an entire island because they threatened his business?"

"I don't know."

"What makes people do such things, mom? I've been wondering about this my whole life. What is it that makes them turn blind eyes on the suffering of others? Just look at what kind of impact he's had on me! To say nothing of what he's done to Berk and Dad and Astrid and everyone else, but consider this: I had a real hard time convincing Dad to give up his thoughts of revenge, and now here I am out for revenge against Viggo! Talk about hypocrisy!" He paused. "Of course, it's not just because he hurt me personally. I can't exactly sit around and do nothing, can I?"

"No, I suppose not. So what's happened to Toothless? Is his absence part of your plan or something?"

The King shook his head. "You know how Astrid believes in codes and rules that apply to certain positions? How leaders are always bound by oaths? We met someone who has failed his oath, so to speak." He then briefly explained what happened on the Isle of Night. Valka's astonishment can well be imagined.

"The Night Furies have been in _hiding_ all this time? And you left Toothless down there?"

"Do you think I _wanted_ to? I've never been less happy flying on a dragon. I feel like I've lost my left arm or something." He slumped back in his seat. "So yes, the Night Furies have been hiding. Hiding and nothing else," He scowled, "I know you don't like me getting involved, mom, but I think failing in an attempt to improve things is better than not doing anything at all."

"I agree."

He was surprised. "You do?"

"Yes, because I realized something after meeting you. Something I used to convince the Bewilderbeast to help me—"

"Was that easy?"

She had to think a moment. "In some ways. The opposition was pretty weak because most of their arguments were purely selfish ones."

"And I suppose Cloudjumper led it?"

"No, he did not." she said sharply, "Cloudjumper used to be as bold a dragon as any I've ever known. How many dragons do you know have the courage to climb into a house during a raid and not flee the moment a mother comes in to defend her infant? And he was willing to take on the Red Death himself, at one time, but the Bewilderbeast wouldn't let him. It's just…after Drago nearly killed him he changed. I guess you could say nearly dying made him appreciate the gift of life and less inclined to risk throwing that gift away. But when I spoke with the nest he was on my side. He knew what I had realized: we'd left that fight, but Drago had still worked on his plans for conquest regardless. If anything, our absence made it easier for him. Hiding in ice caves helped nobody but us, and it was high time we tried to do something besides ignoring the problems with the world."

"I wish I could have turned you loose on those Night Furies, though I doubt they'd have listened. Agaruba and Menomen would have told Salistus you were lying and he'd have believed them." He groaned. "I went there to ease the pressure on us and made things worse instead. How did all of this happen? I return to these parts to bring peace and co-existence between humans and dragons, and look how well that's turned out! I get dragged into a little treasure hunt because I want to be helpful and next thing I know Berk is overrun and we're going to war again! I returned to save the Archipelago, not leave it worse than I found it!"

"Your father sometimes thought that way about Berk," Valka said quietly, "Oh yes he did. He wanted to make Berk greater than it ever was. He wanted to surpass Hamish the First in every possible way. I imagine most Chiefs do, but for him it was an obsession at times. He thought ending the wars with dragons would be the way to do it. Unfortunately, ending the wars with dragons proved harder and costlier than he thought and there were times, especially after raids or returning from yet another failed expedition to find the nest, where he would shut himself up in his room at night and pray to every God he knew, asking why this was happening and what he was supposed to do about it."

"So we just exchanged one problem for another?" The King said glumly.

"That's how it goes, Hiccup." Valka sighed. "Once I bonded with Cloudjumper I had to learn all kinds of skills to survive. Once I learned to talk with them I learned about the Red Death and was at a loss of what to do about her. After I learned she was dead Drago Bludvist moved into the picture. And in the end we decided to remove ourselves from the equation."

"And I dragged you back into it. And possibly you all might die like Dad in the coming fight. Viggo's not gonna show us any mercy if we lose."

"We know the risks, Hiccup. We all do. But we're not going to lose."

"I certainly hope not, but what makes you so confident? You haven't even heard my plans yet! And don't say you have confidence in me just because you're my mother."

"We're going to win because we have a strength Viggo doesn't have. Look at it this way: would anyone be coming to help you if they didn't have confidence in your abilities, or because they didn't care about you personally? I mean, sure a few tribes went to help Viggo, but that was out of fear and greed, not loyalty. When Viggo was ruined, who stood by him besides his brother? Eret? Eret was bullied into helping him and turned on him once he had the chance. Hognose? Hognose only stuck around because of his own interests, not Viggo's. Dgaur? I don't know what he's thinking, but I'll wager family loyalty means more to him than any loyalty to Viggo. But from the moment Berk fell, loads of people and dragons have been waiting to join you as soon as you gave the word, not because they expect something in return, but because they want to help you and want to do the right thing. I imagine _they_ don't believe you're the cause of all of this."

"Who said I was?"

"You have. Maybe not directly, but I can tell you're blaming yourself for it. Just like you blamed yourself for what happened with Drago."

The King looked away for a while, staring at the skies. "Who told you about that?"

"Everyone who knows you well has mentioned it to me at some point."

"Did Dad?"

"Of course he did!"

"Guess he paid more attention to me than I thought," Hiccup mumbled bitterly, more to himself than his mother, "Oh Dad, why? Just when we were mending bridges for real, I went off exploring and left you to die!"

"It's not your fault," Valka assured him gently, "this was Viggo's fault and we'll pay him back, and get Toothless and Astrid and Gobber and all the others back soon, don't worry!"

The King did not hear her, "How does anyone live up to the standards others hold them to?"

"A few years from now Stoick will be telling all the other spirits how you were a greater Chief than he could ever hope to be."

"And I suppose anyone who disagrees will get punched? Oh, but of course that's Astrid's specialty. And so help me, she is not joining our fathers anytime soon." He spoke coldly now and clenched the rock as if to crush it into powder.

"Touching back on something you said earlier: you _do_ have a plan, right?"

The King's inclined his head slightly. "Yes. The meeting's in two nights."

Ingrid could not quite believe what was happening. A man had come in and asked for the _Red Unicorn_ to be shut up for the night. The Innkeeper, her father, had been furious at first but when the man had revealed a bag with more gold than they made in two months how could he refuse? And once the deal was made, cloaked and hooded people began to trickle into the tavern in small groups and sit down silently. There must have been over a score of them, and the number seemed to be increasing.

The tavern keepers were asked to go to their rooms and not listen at the doors. To further pacify her father, he was allowed to take any valuables he desired with him.

"We're here to talk, not steal," one man told him flatly. Ingrid decided to join her father. As soon as they were inside and the door was shut they both pressed their ears against the door.

"I know you're there, I can hear your breathing," a woman on the other side said loudly. Sheepishly the tavern keeper retreated. Ingrid, however, softened her breath as much as she could and stayed as still as possible.

In the common room, the Dragon King had arrived. When the last person entered he shut and bolted the door. The windows were drawn and closed up, and sentries were placed in strategic spots.

"I think you all know why we're here," the King said at length. Everyone nodded. "Now, before I go into details, I want to be sure of one thing. This is going to be highly dangerous, possibly fatal for many of us, maybe even all of us. If there's anyone here who has second thoughts about taking part, this is your final chance to back out, and you should leave right now. I won't judge anyone who does. But I want only determined volunteers for this."

Nobody moved a muscle.

"Thank you. Then let's cut to the chase." He pulled maps and sheets of parchment from his pocket and spread them out on a table in the center of the room, "We're going to take back what Viggo's taken from Berk and we're going to end his threat once and for all. We know he's captured our people and dragons and is shipping them off to wherever there's need for cheap labor or dragon parts. Thanks to Heather, we also know Viggo keeps records of his business deals somewhere in his fortress of Grimmige Festung. Thanks to my wife Astrid, we know Viggo's got an island full of gold to finance these ventures. And thanks to Thuggory and Fishlegs, we know that after the conquest of Berk, a lot of tribes are either laying low or joining with Viggo, to be on the winning side. This means Viggo has a large army, the money to keep them loyal, hostages to use against us, and the information we need to save Berk. And we're going to solve all of these problems at the same time."

He paced around like a General issuing orders to his officers. "This operation is going to be done in 5 parts, and most are going to take place simultaneously. The first part is to deal with this army, preferably away from Grimmige Festung. We will lure them out with our own forces and draw them into battle."

"What if Viggo doesn't take the bait?" the Defender Throk asked.

"He'll have to. If an army rises up to threaten him, he has to strike it down or he looks like a coward and loses power and authority. Those tribes he now commands won't stay loyal to the losing side, and he knows it." He paused, "So, the first part of the plan is to get this army away from Grimmige Festung—and if they refuse to play along, I have a backup plan. Now, the second part of the plan involves Viggo's vault. That vault has to go. So even if all our other plans fail, we'll still have dealt him a parting black eye."

"How much money is in that vault?" someone asked.

"I don't know, but since Viggo was able to build a steam powered ship made of iron for Drago Bludvist, and has continued to endure despite huge losses of income, his fortune must be considerable."

"May I say something?" Fishlegs interrupted. Hiccup nodded, and he said "If Viggo's wealth is as great as you're suggesting, do you really think we have enough time and dragons to empty it?"

"We're not going to empty it. Oh sure, we're filling a few sacks for ourselves, but most of the gold and silver and whatever he's got in there is staying put—in a sense." He declined to elaborate further and pressed on.

"Now, Part 3 is to get the hostages to safety. For that, we're going to need a diversion inside the fortress itself. We'll insert people to distract the inhabitants, including Viggo, while another group moves in for the rescue. Part 4, and this is perhaps the most essential Part, is to get those ledgers Viggo has."

"I'll steal 'em!"

"Sorry, Cami, but I need you for something else—but don't worry, you'll enjoy it."

"So how are we going to get these ledgers then?"

"By using picklocks, acids, and a little stealth and wits."

"And if Viggo finds out what is happening?" Queen Mala asked.

"So much the better. In fact, I'm expecting it. In that case, we'll let him show us where these are kept and snatch them at the last minute, like he tried to do to us on that volcano."

Eret looked doubtful. "You really think he'd unwittingly show you where he keeps those?"

"When your home is being robbed, you naturally go to check on the most valuable possessions first. For Viggo, it will be his ledgers—and the Dragon Eye. We just have to make certain we're present if that happens. And if it doesn't happen—well, we have other means at our disposal and I'll tear his room to pieces if I have to."

"What happens next?" A Defender asked.

"Once we get the ledgers and once the hostages are safe, we are going destroy Grimmige Festung."

Several people snorted. The Twins cheered. Heather spoke up in alarm. "Hiccup, you haven't seen that place. It's huge! And it's made of marble, and you know marble can withstand dragon fire!"

"Who said we'd be using dragon fire against it? Dragons can do more than breathe fire, you know."

"Yeah! We'll blow it up!" Tuffnut yelled.

"Break it up!"

"Crumple it up!"

"You can't crumple up marble, dummy!"

"You can after I'm through with it!"

Hiccup raised a hand for silence. "All I'm saying is, I highly doubt that place has ever been tested for what I'm going to throw at it." He paused again. "I know I'm being vague and speaking in hints, but it will be safer if everyone only knows the general idea and not the details. Just in case."

"So what's Part 5?" Valka asked.

"That part can and should be done at once," the King said. "Ryker Grimborn is Viggo's right hand man. If something happens to Viggo, he'll take over, like as not. And while he's not as smart, he's still got the wits to cause us trouble, and he's too useful to Viggo for us to ignore. So I want him out of the way." He turned to the group, "Now I don't care if that means killing him, locking him up somewhere, cutting a leg off, or whatever else anyone can think of, I just want it so he can't give Viggo any more assistance. It doesn't have to be extreme, just effective—and it's better if Viggo doesn't know it even happened. Volunteers?"

"I'll do it," Heather said darkly, "I can take care of it."

The King nodded. "All right. But remember, what you do to him is up to you."

"Don't worry about that."

The King nodded and began giving out assignments. "Valka, you're going to be in charge of the diversionary army." He wanted a human on that assignment who could speak Dragonese, and the dragons would trust Valka more than anyone else. "Heather, once you're done with Ryker you'll fly to Barren Island. Fishlegs, you're going to be in charge of that operation. I'll work out the details with everyone individually. Queen Mala, you and your people will be rescuing the hostages. The Thorsten Twins, Eret, Camicazi and Bertha are going to join you."

"What about the rest of my tribe?" Bertha demanded.

"They're going to be the distraction. I'm gambling that the only Bog Burglars the Hunters know by sight are you and Cami. And like I said, I'll be discussing assignment details with the individuals whom they concern."

"What am I going to do?" Thuggory asked loudly.

"You're going to be part of the distraction—in disguise."

Camicazi groaned with disappointment.

"And who's going to handle Part 4?" Snotlout asked.

"I am."

"What about the dragons?" asked Camicazi.

"A handful will be used at the Fortress, but most are going with Valka."

The King spent several more hours filling them in one by one on the details of his plans. It was a lot of ground to cover, though in some respects he allowed them leeway, as he told the Bog Burglars, "So I don't care about what you do for a distraction, as long as it distracts them. Do a comic routine, do a striptease, perform a Greek tragedy or celebrate a Catholic Mass, I don't care. Just keep them—and by them I mostly mean Viggo—from paying any attention to what's going on in the rest of their fortress while the hostages are escaping."

"But how will my people get in there to begin with?" Bertha asked.

"With a little help and luck, Viggo is going to welcome them to his home as entertainment for the evening to celebrate his success."

"What success?" Queen Mala asked.

The King told them.

"I see. And will Dagur be able to play his part?"

The King swallowed. The real question was did he trust Dagur or not. "Yes." He said at last. "Yes, I think he will."

Since they were on the subject of people they were uncertain of, Bertha and Mala looked at Eret suspiciously. "Are you sure about him?"

"If he turns treacherous, do what you please. But he knows the interior of that place better than anyone present except Heather, and Heather won't be there. It'll help us save time this way."

Mala still made a mental note to ask Heather for a map of the Fortress.

"Hey, I'm thirsty," Snotlout said loudly, "Is there anything to drink here?"

The King, rather annoyed, pointed to the back room, "Just make sure you pay for it. We aren't thieves here,"

"Hah! And you're plotting to steal stuff from Viggo!"

Eret took the opportunity to speak. "Personally, I don't believe this'll work."

"Duly noted, but unless you've got a better idea it's what we're going with," the King replied coolly.

"Look, please believe me when I say I'm on your side now—and because I am, I've got to warn you, Viggo isn't a fool—this whole scheme of yours relies too much on chance, it's just—well, it'll be incredibly difficult if not impossible!" He was frustrated the King showed no signs of heeding his warnings.

The King just folded his arms and looked Eret square in the eye. "Try learning to run with a metal leg sometime."

He turned to his mother and started explaining what he wanted while Eret walked away dejectedly. Unlike Eret, Valka was impressed by the plan outlined for her, except for one thing.

"Is this going to come down to a fight?"

"Most likely, knowing Mogadon and Scolder," her son said grimly.

"Doesn't this go against everything we've been trying to promote?"

"Everybody's been telling me to 'show how powerful we are'. They've asked for it, so they're going to get it."

Valka nodded reluctantly. "All right."

"Still…give them chances to turn back…and try to keep the casualties low."

"I will. Well, I must say, this is quite a scheme. And it'll work."

"Yeah." He said quickly and dismissively.

"It'll work, Hiccup, it'll—"

"Eret doesn't think it will because he only knows what I need him to know. If he knew everything he might have more confidence. Or maybe not. Either way, I promise you, mom, I am not suffering from a lack of self-assurance right now,"

"You're father would be proud of you," she said softly.

The King took a deep breath. "Maybe."

"He would!" She put an arm on his shoulder. "And _I'm_ proud of you."

He smiled shyly and turned a little red. Then the moment passed. "Well, let's not congratulate ourselves until we've succeeded." He paused. "Will someone bring the innkeeper and his daughter down here please?"

Two Defenders went to the room, opened the door, and brought Ingrid and her Father down to the King. "I suppose you two heard everything?"

"Not at all!" the Innkeeper cried. "I don't know what you're going to do to Grimmage Festung and Barren Island and I want no part of it!"

"Nope, he didn't hear a thing." Tuffnut muttered to Ruffnut, who looked at him in annoyance. She was focusing on Eret.

"But I do!" his daughter cried, "Can I come with you?"

"Ingrid!"

The King eyed her skeptically. "You sure? There's no turning back once you're committed to this."

"I'm sure."

"Now just a minute!" her father shouted, "Ingrid isn't going anywhere! I hear you people talking about plans about fights and thefts and we want nothing to do with them! I don't think you've even got the slightest idea of what you're fighting for!"

There was a murmur and a few people exchanged uncertain glances. The King raised his eyebrows and turned to face the congregation.

"You all know why I'm doing this. That man murdered my father and imprisoned my wife and captured my tribe, so I'm getting my tribe and family back. As for why you all are doing this, well, I suppose everybody has their own reasons. But I would strike at Viggo now even if he hadn't attacked Berk. You know why? It's not just because he kills dragons and sells them. It's because he's reached the point where he won't stop himself for anything. It's now either his way or extermination. And I know sometimes that's what powerful people have to do. I myself have used similar threats before. But who benefits from doing things 'his way'? Nobody but him. Oh sure, he'll let his supporters stay alive, but only as long as it's profitable to _him_. When I came to that gathering of Chiefs, so long ago, and basically ordered you to accept dragons or else, who benefited? Everyone who accepted dragons for what they truly were! I gave you a promise and hope of peace, prosperity, friendship, and security! I gave you friends who helped lighten your labors, helped ensure your survival, and made life much more interesting!"

"Yeah, it's never dull with winged fire breathing reptiles around," Fishlegs said, prompting some laughter.

"Very true. But if Viggo had his way, we'd all be his employees, slaving away for as long as he pleased for a few grains a day, more like living carcasses than actual people. He only wants us around because we're a means to an end, and that end is wealth and power for him and him alone. He'd root out the sun if it stood in the way of his profits. That kind of selfishness and arrogance sickens me and, so help me, I am going to stand against it, as any decent human being should! We are standing against him because we believe we deserve to be treated better than he would have! We've stood in the way of his profits, but he wants to stand in the way of our lives! Are we free to choose our own destinies, or should we submit meekly to one man's greed? _That_ is why we are going to fight against Viggo, and because we've got to prove to him, the rest of the world, and to ourselves, that we are not going to be walked over by some _man of business_ because we don't want his _business_ any longer!"

He slammed his hand on a table as he finished. Nobody spoke for a moment. Then the whole room burst into applause. He quickly waved a hand for silence.

"Save the clapping for if we win. Now, Sir, do you object to your daughter taking part in a cause like this?"

"Such a thing is not for a woman," he replied stiffly.

"I just don't understand why countries put down women so much! So Ingrid, do you object to taking part in a cause like this?"

"Oh no!" she cried eagerly.

"All right. I'll find a way to fit you into my plans." And with that he moved onto other matters with other people, leaving Ingrid looking a little crestfallen. Camicazi noticed and went over to her.

"Did you hope he was going to take you under his wing or something?"

"Well…"

"Oh I know what you're thinking about. Forget it, sister. He's already married, and his wife has a well earned reputation for a violent temper."

Much later, after nearly everyone else had gone, Ingrid was in her room busily preparing to leave. Snotlout had volunteered to help, which naturally meant he was trying to flirt with her. While Ingrid was not the loveliest woman in the world, since Astrid was off the market and Heather and Camicazi were not present, he decided she was pretty enough.

"—and just wait until you see me on Hookfang, my dear. There's nothing in the world that can stop us!"

"Oh really?" she asked skeptically.

"Yes really. And it's an amazing thing, but I've found your type of skin shade looks so 'hot' when it's contrasting with the flames of a Monstrous Nightmare!"

Ingrid frowned at the rotten attempt to sound romantic. "Are all the Dragon King's friends like you?"

"Oh not in the least," Snotlout bragged, "Nobody comes even close to comparing with me, in fact, I—" He suddenly stopped what he was doing. "I don't feel so good," His face was growing pale and he put a hand to his stomach. "I'll be right…" he ran from the room and she heard him vomit.

"Are you alright?" she yelled, rushing to his side. He was shaking. She laughed. "Had a bit too much to drink, huh?"

"Just…water…" he whimpered. "Ulg! My stomach—hurts, it hurts. Where's the—where's the privy?"

"Outside. Here, I'll—"

But then she put the facts together. Water and an upset stomach. She screamed and leapt away from him. Snotlout screamed too, but in pain as he threw up again.

"HELP!" Ingrid yelled, "SOMEONE GET A DOCTOR!"

"HICCUP!" Snotlout shrieked, doubling over, "HICCUP?"

Camicazi was the first to reach them. "What's going on?"

"WHERE'S HICCUP?"

"He just left—what's going on?"

Ingrid looked terrified. "Cholera!"


	36. Chapter 36

**I Own Nothing**

 **All Rights Reserved**

 **My heart and prayers go out to the islands in the Caribbean. No place deserves to endure the disasters that have occurred there.**

 **Chapter 36**

 **Viggo's Riches**

Hiccup decided that few things in a town or city were worse than the hospitals. Like everywhere else, they were filthy, smelly, breeding grounds for rats and beetles, sooty and grungy in appearance from years of tallow and torches burning, and then to add to all of that was the sight of humans in their last painful moments of life. Men, women, and children gazed at him, hollow unnatural yellow eyes peering out from underfed, gaunt, cheerless, and gasping faces. Others lay on thin piles of straw writing with agony and muttering or crying insensibly. A pile of ragged bodies had been placed in a corner for the dead collectors. The place smelled like an outhouse with the scent of dead and rotting bodies included for good measure.

And perhaps even worse was that knowledge that there were infectious diseases all over the place and there was a good chance he might catch something himself and spread it to others. He had a mask on over his face, but that hardly guaranteed anything.

Ingrid and Fishlegs were with Snotlout, who was lying on a straw pile, staring up at the sooty black ceiling. Hiccup carefully hung up his lantern and asked how he was.

"It's getting worse. Father wouldn't let him stay at the _Red Unicorn_ ," Ingrid said bitterly, "he said sick people are bad for business. I told him 'so is contaminated water' but he ignored me. The doctors told me there's little hope."

Hiccup groaned and dropped his head into a hand. "Are the Gods suddenly determined to wipe out my entire family?"

"What are we going to do?" Fishlegs cried, "Cholera's fatal for nearly 7 out of every 10 people! Hiccup, is there any dragon trick that can cure him?"

Hiccup sighed heavily. "None that I know of."

"C'mon, _think_!"

"I don't know, all right! Dragons don't get cholera!"

"Dad…" Snotlout murmured. His eyes were unfocused and his tone sounded incoherent.

"They gave him something for the pain," Ingrid explained. "It seems to be working,"

"I hope they know what they're doing," Fishlegs muttered.

Hiccup nodded, but in agreement with his friend, not to indicate that the doctors knew their business. They stood in silence for a few moments. Then he gestured to them to come with him.

Fishlegs looked confused. "Is the plan still on?"

"We can't do anything for him now, Fish, and he wouldn't want this to stop us. Parts of the plan are already in motion. I can't call it off now. He's just going to have to sit this one out. He's got a battle of his own to fight."

"I'll sit this one out too, if that's alright," Ingrid said timidly, "I'll stay with him,"

"You sure?"

"He got sick in my families tavern—from our water. We owe him."

Hiccup nodded, but did not look reassured. "Just keep him alive, alright? When we return, I want to see him back on his feet and his usual self absorbed, obnoxious self."

"Don't you want to talk to him before we go?" Fishlegs suggested.

Hiccup looked at his pitiful cousin. He had never in all his life seen Snotlout in such bad shape, not even when they had been locked in a Berserker prison together. "Snotlout…you get better, all right? Yeah, so I'll see you when we get back and…I'm so sorry. For everything."

Snotlout farted loudly. They might have laughed at one time, and he might have laughed hardest, and then blamed it on someone else, but there was nothing funny about it now. The stench was horrible and he groaned and clenched his stomach. Hiccup and Fishlegs turned away, leaving Ingrid to try and tend to him as best as she could.

"You and I have to take a very thorough bath somewhere with clean water," Hiccup said, "And once we're done, we're off."

"Odin have mercy,"

"Now's as good a time as any for him to start," Hiccup sullenly agreed.

Viggo smiled with satisfaction at the amount of information they had gotten from the Dragon Eye today. Among other things he now knew about what kinds of fish Nightmares preferred the most, what time of year Nightmares and their related species laid eggs, and he was now considering if dragon eggs could be used for a delicacy, and he knew more about how Nightmares set themselves on fire. Hiccup's fire sword had impressed Viggo and he wanted to find a way to duplicate it and go further.

"What a fool Hiccup was," he said, his voice almost dripping with smugness, "he had such brains and let them go to waste. He focused on trivial matters and when he had a worthy idea he only advanced partially. I will go further. And to think, Father always favored Ryker."

He paused and wondered why on earth he had said that. He did not often think of his father, or anyone else in his family for that matter. He had hardly thought of Draccus even when he was alive and now that he was dead he thought of him even less. As for Ryker, he was useful as a thug but he was not refined enough. Viggo could rely on him for muscle and a few simple plans but little else.

Viggo sat back in his chair and thought about Hiccup. The Dragon King, as his men often called that man. What was Hiccup going to do next?

"He'll come here, of course, but when? He'll want to save his people, of course, but how? Who can he turn to?"

The Bog Burglars and those Defenders of the Wing were the obvious choices. He did not know where the Defenders were currently hiding but he decided it was time to remove the Bog Burglars from the picture. He would give them the same treatment he gave Berk. And then he remembered that most of his ships were still out delivering their live cargo from Berk. He did not have enough for another such undertaking at the moment.

He glanced at one of his notes. It contained a list of names of people who were being sold into slavery, possible at that very moment. These were people of no value and no worth except in servitude. The world would not miss them. He put the page down.

And then something compelled him to pick it up again. He looked at it a second time and read some of the names. A few of the last names were the same. Obviously they were from the same family. For some reason this made him feel uneasy. It made him wonder how he would like it if he had been sold with his own family into slavery. For a brief instant he saw himself chained up in a cargo hold with a hundred other wailing prisoners, waiting for a life of endless backbreaking work and floggings.

But then he snorted. "Everything I've done was right. Right for only me, perhaps, but everyone must act in their own interests! That's the way of the world! So, a few people got in my way and I had to take extreme measures—they were threats to my success! So what if I had some people killed? They were all going to die sooner or later anyway! They're all probably in happy Valhalla now, so they should be thanking me for sending them there! So what if I turned others into slaves? That's not my affair now."

He stood up and went to a large looking glass on the wall and looked at his reflection intently. "I am a man of business, and business cannot afford to be hindered by the insignificant. It's unfortunate and regrettable, but it's true. When people get in the way, they get hurt. I didn't ask them to interfere! If they had just kept out they'd be alive and thriving today! It's their own fault! And it's Hiccup's fault! And I have waited long enough—my cells can hold more people. I'll move on the Bog Burglars within the week and—"

There was a knock on the door from the adjoining room. He locked up everything, went to that room and opened the door. Dagur and Ryker were there.

"Well?"

"First of all, I just wanna say it wasn't my fault!" Dagur wailed. He was nursing a black eye.

"What's he going on about?" Viggo asked Ryker impatiently.

"From what I can gather, he ran into the Dragon King just now."

Viggo's eyes lit up. "Where did this happen? Where is he now?"

"Gone!" Dagur bawled, "I was taking a stroll and he came and left! But it wasn't my fault! I begged him to stay! I promised him all kinds of treats in his prison cells if he would just let me take him prisoner, but he punched me in the face and ran off!" He threw himself at Viggo's feet. "Oh please don't hurt me, Griggo Vimborn! It's not my fault my brother's so rude to his family! And this black stuff he put on my face won't rub off! I keep rubbing it but it stays there! Oh please don't sir me hurt!"

But Viggo was not at all interested in hurting Dagur. On the contrary, this was wonderful news! Now Hiccup was back and was obviously up to something. If they moved fast they might just be able to catch him. He turned to Ryker.

"Where's Heather's Razorwhip?"

"With Heather, I imagine."

"Get on that Razorwhip and go after him!"

"But my sister will be tired!" Dagur whined.

"I don't care! I want him found!"

"You didn't even ask if poor Ryker and his big throat are feeling better now!"

"I am perfectly _fine_!" Ryker growled, "But there's more. One of our ships just returned, and they say they saw a huge flock of dragons to the north. There's a Stormcutter nearby too."

Viggo smiled. So the Dragon King was bringing a dragon army against him, was he? "You go after Hiccup and I will attend to this flock. Dagur, go find Mogadon and the other Chiefs, I want to speak with them here at once. And will you please stop kissing my boots!"

Far away and far out at sea, in a much warmer climate, a ship bobbed up and down through the waves. For the crewmen, who were all in Viggo's employment, it was just another day at sea. There was some occasional noise from the cargo hold, but that was to be expected. Prisoners and captured dragons often made noises, so pleas for decent food (or any food at all), a doctor, or anything else were summarily ignored.

And then, without any noticeable warning, the grate covering the cargo hold was blown opened and dragons and prisoners burst out of it.

"Get 'em!" Gustav Larsen roared, swinging his chains at the nearest sailor's head. The sailors had no chance. The surprise had been total and the Dragons were in no mood to be merciful. Nor were the humans who were climbing out of the hold.

"Get in there and go for a swim!" Gustav yelled at one sailor he was pushing towards the side of the ship.

"But I can't swim!"

"Then this is the perfect time to learn!" and with that he threw the man overboard. And as soon as he did so he froze. Had he just left a man to die? He knew killing people in combat was one thing, but leaving someone to drown…

Gobber had finally climbed out of the hold, with some assistance. He saw Gustav's expression and shook his head. "Lad, think a' this: would they 'ave cried watchin' ya git dragged inta slavery?

"No," Gustav said, "But Hiccup told me having compassion was what separated us from them," he could hear shouts of the men in the water. With effort and a heavy heart he turned away.

Others had no conscience troubles, and they were laughing at their newly found freedom, thanking Gobber for carrying a picklock in his peg-leg, and criticizing him for not using it sooner.

"Well, ah didn't spend all that time wid 'Iccup fer nothin', ya know!" he laughed in response to the praise, "An' ah had ta wait and bide me time or else the sailors might've caught us!" At that moment a Hotburple licked Gobber right in the face. "AUGH! Git away from me, ya overgrown heap of rocks!"

The dragon snorted in offense and sat down in a sulk.

"'E's a real grump, that one," Gobber muttered.

Gustav assumed his best imitation of Hiccup's authority posture. "Right, turn this ship around and let's go home!"

"Yeah! Ah'll be able tag it a new pair of undies! Ah've bin wearin' these ones ever since—"

A woman threatened to throw Gobber overboard if he said one more word.

Far away from this, where it was considerably colder, on an island about half a day's flight from Grimmige Festung, Windshear went in for a landing. Ryker slid off the Razorwhip with a groan. "Thank the Gods, I was starting to cramp up! See the Dragon King anywhere?"

"Nope," Heather said. She unstrapped her axe, which was in its folded position so it looked like any other axe, took a deep breath, and moved towards him.

"What are you doing?"

"The idea is to cripple you badly and leave you here, but if you insist upon fighting to the death, I'll oblige you."

Ryker face turned ugly and he quickly pulled out his sword. "So its treason then, is it?"

"Treason means switching sides. I was never on your side to begin with."

Ryker smirked. "That's what Viggo thought. And I'm gonna have your spine for a belt!" He charged swinging his sword. Heather ducked and swung at his legs. Ryker leapt over the axe, but Heather had expected that and grabbed his foot, causing him to fall flat on his stomach. Despite the pain, Ryker rolled away just before he was sliced in half. He got to his feet and raised his sword. Heather swung her axe and knocked it right out of his hand.

She expected Ryker to jump for his weapon, but instead he jumped towards her and started punching, and he turned out to be better with his fists than with a blade. He punched her in the eye, then seized her by the collar and threw her to the ground. She slashed his leg with her axe, but he was so angry he ignored it and kicked her in the chest. Then he picked her up and shoved her to the ground again. As she landed on her hands, Heather swung her legs up, as if about to do a handstand, and kicked him in the face. Ryker fell backwards and she spun around and pummeled him in the stomach. She stopped to pick her axe up from the ground, only to find Ryker had used the time to grab his own weapon.

"Now you're gonna get it!"

"You took the words right out of my mouth," she swung her axe to the left and he blocked it. She swung to the right and he blocked it. She did left again and he blocked it. Then she swung right again and he blocked it, picking up on the pattern. She swung to the right and he blocked it.

"A typical move!" he laughed.

"Was it?" Thus far she had only been fighting with her axe as though it was merely a standard axe. But now she pressed a button to release the other blade. It swung out instantly, and she threw all her weight against it. He blocked it, but in doing so had removed his attention from the first blade, and he had no time to stop it as it sliced into his ribs.

"The Dragon King says 'hello,' by the way,"

Mogadon's ships were in the lead of the fleet. His warriors were armed to the teeth and ready for a fight. They were following a Stormcutter, because it was the only dragon they had seen and they assumed that where the dragon was they would also find the Dragon King.

"I smell a trap," a Meat Head said, "I think they _want_ us to find them,"

"Of course they do!" Mogadon snapped, "They can't fight us if we stay away from them! I know what's going on here. They've chosen a place they think is ideal for them and they plan to let us come there and then blast us to pieces. Only they won't, because we know more tricks than they think we do!" Every warrior had an eel wrapped around their arm and Dragon Nip fastened to their clothes. It felt disgusting and silly but Mogadon was convinced that with these assets alone he could triumph over every dragon in existence.

"I wonder if Thuggory will be there,"

Mogadon at once seized the man and threw him into some crates. "I said nobody was to ever mention that traitor! Do I have to hammer it into that thick skull of yours, you idiot?"

"No sir!"

"Good! Now pick up the pace! We've got a fight to get to and I don't want another tribe arriving first!"

Up in the sky Cloudjumper looked down at his pursuers scornfully.

" **Everlasting Ice, they are denser than I thought** ,"

Valka chuckled grimly. " **It's not that, old friend. They can't fight us if they don't know where we are, so they won't pass up the chance to find us. And we're not going to come to them when we've got such a good position, so we've got to bring them to our position! They know that and we know that! Both sides are playing the other and whoever plays the best game wins**."

" **It is still pretty dense** ,"

" **Yes, but only for the side that loses. The winners will be praised for their 'ingenious' tactics."**

" **I just hope that's us this time. I do not have much faith in your offspring's abilities, especially since he is not going to be present for this himself. I cannot help but sense he does not want to be around if we fail,"**

" **I already explained this. Hiccup's not here because he's got his own job to do. Now fly a bit higher. Let's keep out of range of their archers, just in case**."

" **Quite right. I have no intention of getting hit by a projectile again. So are we truly going to fight them or is there another plan?"**

" **My own hope is to scare them so badly they'll never want to get on Hiccup's bad side again, but I suspect this is going to end in violence,"**

After disposing of Ryker's body and cleaning her weapons, Heather and Windshear flew to Barren Island. It certainly appeared to live up to its name. It was little more than a large island of rocks, with no trees or grasses or soil. The remains of miserable shack stood in the center of the island, further creating the impression of its desolation. But apparently below this small, uninhabitable, and unassuming landscape was Viggo's money vault.

Heather guessed Viggo had named it 'Barren Island' to deliberately mislead everyone. She knew he had a small vault in the very bottom of Grimmige Festung, but she imagined that was mostly for show or for money needed on short notice. She wondered who else knew about this place. Ryker had, for that was how they had learned about it, and if there were guards they obviously had to know, but she doubted anybody else knew. Certainly Dagur and Eret had never known. She had heard Eret remark he had often wondered where Viggo had kept all his money and how he still had so much if the profits were so low these days.

"I can't answer for everything," Hiccup had told him, "But I do know Drago paid him a fortune to construct that iron ship of his in secret. I wouldn't be surprised if after Drago's death Viggo quietly scooped up the rest of his wealth."

Night was falling early, as usual, which suited the plan fine as they did not want to be seen. Hiccup had been very explicit about that, which was probably why Fishlegs did not arrive until after sundown. In addition to a handful of Hotburples he was flying with a group of dragons Heather had never seen before. They looked like Gronkles only they were thinner and their skin color was metallic bronze, as opposed to the dull brown of Meatlug.

"What are those?" she whispered to Fishlegs after he landed.

"What happened to your eye?" he exclaimed. "It's black!"

"It is?" she gingerly touched it and felt the bruising. "Ryker punches pretty hard."

"Did you have any trouble with him?"

Heather drew herself up stiffly, "Me? Have any trouble? Why I'm offended by your lack of faith!" Her jesting was a mask to cover up the fact that she had just killed someone and had initiated the fight.

"Oh right, I forgot who I was talking to! You're Heather the Defender—Fearless and Peerless!"

"You sound like a peddler. 'Fearless and Peerless'," she repeated under her breath.

"On sale at 99% off and a lifetime guaranteed!" In truth Fishlegs had no idea what he was talking about or what the joke was. He was just glad Heather was alright.

"Very funny—I think. Now, if you're finished, can we get on with this? What are those dragons?"

"Do you remember when we were testing the dragon eye and found the lens which had a list of favorite foods of certain dragons? One of the species mentioned was a Flugarum."

"Floo-ga-room?" she repeated with bemusement.

"Right! They're a boulder class dragon and their favorite foods are metals, especially gold and silver."

Heather laughed. "Yeah, right!"

"No, it's true! Gronkles can consume rocks and Eruptodons eat lava, remember? Flugarums have been a real problem for miners for centuries—they often sneak into mines and eat the ore. Hiccup's got long ears, and he'd heard a while back there was a nest of Flugarums at Rammelsberg. It's a mine in the Harz."

"So what are they doing here? Unless—" Her eyes widened and she smiled broadly. "You mean to tell me they're going to _eat_ Viggo's savings?"

Fishlegs grinned. "Exactly!"

" **I hope this was worth the journey**!" one of the Flugarums grumbled, " **I'm hungry**!"

" **Yeah, this had better be worth it**!"

" **I haven't flown so far in my whole life**!"

"The very image of cordiality, aren't they?" Heather whispered to Windshear, who snorted in agreement.

They approached the shack, because there was nothing else around to approach. Heather went in first and found the sides of the walls were held up by iron bars.

"So this is supposed to _look_ like it's ready to fall over?"

"Clever," Fishlegs said. He signaled for the dragons to wait as he looked about the floor. "Heather, help me move this crate."

Underneath the heavy crate was a trapdoor. Twitchy with excitement they raised the door and nearly gagged. The air was incredibly foul.

"Good grief! Do they lock this up to let guards suffocate down there?"

Fishlegs put a finger to his lips. From below they could hear the sound of feet stomping on rock. The two humans slipped out of the shack and let Windshear slide over to the door.

"Someone's here alright," they heard a guard say, "the door's opened and it's not a supply day."

"You two search the island and I'll watch from here,"

"Yeah, that's right, stay inside where it's nice and warm," a third grumbled.

"You think it's warm in this wreck of a house? If you're so cold, get moving!"

The two men left the shack, got two steps and found themselves face to face with Windshear.

" **Hello there** ,"

"RAZORWHIP ATTACK!"

The dragons leapt into action. Meatlug pounced upon one guard while Windshear pinned another to the ground with her spines. The third man had come running out of the shack and ran right into Heather, who winded him and threw him to the ground. Fishlegs at once pulled out long strands of rope and they bound them.

The three guards were incredibly pale and very dirty and smelly. They had muscular arms but the skin looked tight and stretched, and their frames were thin and scrawny in other places. Their eyes burned feverishly as they looked at their captors. Fishlegs was reminded of the people he had seen in the hospital.

"Are you gonna kill us?" one asked. He sounded hopeful, not helpless.

"That depends on how you answer my questions," Heather said coldly, "Are there any more of you?"

"No,"

"Yes, hundreds of us!"

"A few,"

Heather pointed her axe at the one who had said 'a few', as she imagined he was telling the truth. "How many exactly?"

"Five others. They stay below to guard the vault."

"Traitor!"

"They're going to find out anyway!" he yelled back at his fellow guard, "It's not like we can exactly stop them! Telling them there's a few hundred will only make them stall for a while!"

"And in that time the supply ship will come here and kill them!"

"No it won't," Fishlegs whispered smugly. No supply ship would be coming this way again if they had their way.

The more honest guard did not hear him. "Sure, and then we'll all go back down below for a few more decades, assuming Viggo doesn't have us killed for getting caught!"

"Fishlegs, bring them inside the shack and leave someone to guard them." Heather ordered. "Then we'll descend into this vault. How much is in it, anyway?"

"We don't know," the three guards said simultaneously.

"We've never counted,"

"We've never been told,"

"We've never been in the vault. We just guard the passage to it. Only Viggo has the key to the door."

" **I actually pity them** ," Meatlug said as they climbed down the trapdoor. She almost could not fit, and had to rub her thick hide repeatedly against the stone walls to widen the passage. " **They're essentially prisoners here. Didn't you see how unhealthy they looked?** "

" **Yes I did**." Windshear replied, " **It's all because of that monster Viggo and his greed. I just hope we pay him back for it.** "

They descended down a tunnel, the two humans holding lanterns. On the left they could see a kind of dwelling area for the guards. It was a place of total filthiness. It smelled horrible, abandoned supply bags were thrown about all over the place, along with bits of half-eaten food, and the lights from torches had turned the walls to a smudgy black. They could see a few holes in the ceiling for air and perhaps to allow rainwater to be captured, but these did nothing to improve the air quality or the overall appearance of the place. Why anyone would want to live here was beyond them, but it was likely the guards had not known what they were getting themselves into until it was too late to change their minds.

The passage beyond became too narrow for the Boulder Class Dragons, so they set to work widening it while the humans went on ahead with Windshear.

"I wonder how much gold Viggo's got here?" Heather said, "It must be a lot if he takes such precautions."

With no warning, an axe swung in front of her.

"What the—!" She leapt backwards just in time. If she had not had such reflexes she would have been sliced in half. Fishlegs had been walking so close behind her she ran into him and he nearly fell over.

"How did _that_ happen?" he exclaimed when they had gotten their balance back.

He held the lantern out and they looked around nervously. Upon close examination of the floor Fishlegs realized certain slabs were a slightly different color from the rest. Laying on his belly he carefully stretched out his hand and pressed down on this part of the ground. The axe came swinging again, but it was too high up to cut through his hand.

"So that's it," he said, "step on this part of the floor and the axe swings. Interesting contraption."

"Sounds like something Hiccup would make,"

"This section of floor must be a different color so the guards don't step on it by mistake."

"I wonder how many have," Heather said darkly.

Windshear passed the warning back to their companions. From then on they stepped a lot more cautiously.

The fleet of Viking ships had followed Cloudjumper to an island they could swear was not on their charts. At least they assumed it was an island, though it was so large it was hard to tell. It really looked as if part of the ocean had frozen over. The island was literally one huge sheet of ice, and when the men walked on it they had no idea if there was solid earth underneath them. And this made them antsy, because they could not imagine how this could have happened. It was winter, yes, and parts of the sea did freeze over and chunks of ice were frequent dangers in these parts, but never to this extent. And because they could not imagine how this could have happened, they started to come up with their own theories. Some went so far as to speculate the Dragon King had powers over the weather, or perhaps the Gods had taken his side in this little conflict.

Mogadon knew the man behind the Dragon King's façade and did not put stock in such theories, but he decided they had played this game long enough. With the agreement of the other leaders, the men were ordered to start digging trenches and prepare a defense for a dragon attack.

"Now they're going to have to come to us," he grinned, "the fight will be on ground of our choosing, not theirs."

Up in the air Cloudjumper turned his head around almost 180 degrees to look behind him. " **They have stopped**."

" **That was expected** ,"

Heather and Fishlegs were stopped as well. Stopped by an iron portcullis, five armed guards in front of them, and another portcullis that had dropped behind them. They were trapped and cut off from Windshear.

One of the guards raised a crossbow and fired a warning shot. "Don't make any sudden moves! Put your hands up slowly!"

They casually put their hands in the air and jumped to opposite sides of the passage. They were far enough apart for Windshear to stick her mouth through one gap in the iron barrier and shoot a ball of fire at the guards. The guards flung themselves on the floor to escape the blast, and before they could get up Heather swung her axe and neatly knocked their crossbows against the wall.

"Don't make any sudden moves!" she said smugly, "Put your hands up slowly!"

As she spoke Windshear swung her tail and bit by bit hacked through the portcullis as if it was a very thick piece of rope.

Then men slowly got to their feet and in unison pulled out swords. Three went for Heather and the others went for Fishlegs. Fishlegs swung his hammer and disarmed one man, only for the other to grab him around the neck and bite him in the shoulder. On Heather's end, two guards slammed their swords against her axe and held them there while the third tried to cut her head off. She ducked, then jumped and kicked one in the chest, sending him sprawling on the floor.

The guard was behind Fishlegs and trying to strangle him, so Fishlegs drove himself backwards into the wall. For the guard it was like being the metal hammered on an anvil. Heather struck another of her attackers in the mouth with her fist and he fell to his knees spitting out blood. Moments later the portcullis was thrown to the ground and Windshear joined the fight. Fishlegs grabbed Heather by the wrist and pulled her against the wall and the Razorwhip blasted the guards.

On the icecap the Vikings had already prepared a trench and were digging a second one when a cylinder container fell from the sky. One man nervously picked it up and delivered it to the Chiefs, who were preparing plans for battle at their headquarters tent in the rear.

The cylinder contained a letter. It read thus:

" _You cannot hope to win. You've all fought with dragons before, so you know something of what to expect, but you have no idea of what you're truly up against. Save yourselves and your tribes. Return to your homes at once and we shall say no more about this. For those who stay and fight, expect no mercy._

 _You've been warned._

 _The Dragon King,_

Scolder noticed there was writing on the back as well. This read:

 _Oh, and duplicate letters are being distributed amongst your people at this very moment, so don't think you can hide this warning from everyone else. You might be content to fight, but I wonder if the rest of your people feel the same way._

 _Kindest regards,_

 _The Dragon King_ ,"

Mogadon rushed out of the tent and, sure enough, he saw Vikings nervously clenching sheets of parchment and looking around uncertainly. More parchment was dropping from the sky.

He knew he had to act at once so he roared "Now here this, all of you! This is just a bluff! Hiccup the Useless is trying to scare us away because he knows he's outmatched! We've all fought with dragons before and we've got tricks of our own which he had no idea about! We're Vikings! We don't not turn around and run because of a few letters! And I will personally behead anyone who attempts to flee now, so get back to work and forget about this!" he grabbed a letter and tore it to shreds. Then he looked up at the sky and yelled, "Bring it on, Dragon King! Attack us if you dare!"

The Vikings quickly went back to their preparations, but Mogadon's words hardly reassured anybody, including himself. He had to wonder, was this fight going to be worth it? Were they truly ignorant of the power Hiccup had at his disposal?

He was not a deeply devout man, but he prayed to every God he ever respected that they were not in over their heads.

Fishlegs and Heather walked a little ways further down the passage—away from the smell of charred flesh, and came to a stone wall. Try as they might they could not find a way to get through this stone blockage, and Windshear's spines made no impact on it. They decided to wait for the Boulder Class Dragons to arrive and hopefully eat through it. They could faintly hear them widening the tunnel but could see almost nothing in the blackness.

Fishlegs sat down and took some deep breaths.

"Hiccup warned me there might be casualties. Even so, I don't like this. It seems so senseless to me. Those men did nothing but what they were ordered to do—and hardly even that."

"That's what happens in war, Fishlegs. People who had nothing to do with it get hurt first and worst. You don't have to like it, but it's what happens."

"And this whole place—it must be a nightmare to live here. It's almost as bad as the hospital we left Snotlout at."

"How is he, by the way?"

"Who knows?" Fishlegs asked hopelessly, "He could be the same, on the mend, or dead for all I know. Oh, Heather, I just want this to be over. I just want things back the way they used to be."

"So do I,"

"And then you'll go back to the Defenders and doing who knows what again, I suppose?"

Heather eyed him sharply. "What's that supposed to mean?"

He frowned. "Look, I know you've got your own life to live but…well, I get tired of saying goodbye! Every time we have some kind of adventure, in the back of my head there's always a nagging reminder that when it's all over you're going to go somewhere else and I may never see you again and…well, I'm tired of it!"

"What do you want me to say? I don't live on Berk! I have a place of my own and a tribe of my own, and I can't just leave them behind because I—because I—"

"What?"

"Nothing,"

Fishlegs picked up a rock and tossed it away moodily.

"Do you think it was worth it?" Heather suddenly asked, "Us going after the Dragon Eye? Do you think that thing was really worth all this trouble?"

"Yes,"

She was not expecting that answer. "Really?"

"Yes, because if we hadn't gone after the Dragon Eye…I would never have met you, and…and I think that's worth the price,"

Heather discovered she was sweating. "Fishlegs—"

The arrival of Meatlug ended the conversation. " **Here we are! Whew! Those Flugarums are quite the eaters**!"

Fishlegs adopted a calmer tone. " **That's good to know, Princess. Can you get us through this door**?"

She examined the blockage before them and slammed her club-like tail into it. She did it again and again, and the arriving Flugarums began gobbling up the chunks. At last she made a large enough hole for Fishlegs to climb through with difficulty. He held a lantern in front of him and Heather heard him gasp.

"Well? Can you see anything?"

He had some trouble speaking. "Yes. I can see something alright."

Heather climbed through the opening and gasped as well. Before them was a vast cavern filled with great piles of money. Fishlegs had seen the treasury at the Sanctuary ruins, but this far surpassed it in every way. Everywhere was the hint of gold and silver. There were giant piles of coins, bars, jewels, ornaments, and anything else a valuable metal could be shaped into. There were numerous piles of precious stones and rare gems, some the size of sand, some the size of apples. There were piles of gold dust and gold flakes, and there were ebony and ivory statues, vases of milky white alabaster, beryl encrusted crowns, and in one corner were candelabras with giant rubies for candle holders on their arms. There were even clothes: fine fabrics, made namely of silk or golden threads, with gems of all kinds sewn into them. Everything was thriftily organized by type and value.

For all they knew, they were looking at the greatest accumulation of wealth in the entire world. They had both heard stories about the legendary wealth of Ancient Egypt and her Pharaohs, but they felt such riches were surely a mere shadow compared to what this great vault contained. How much wealth was actually in there was incalculable, even for someone like Fishlegs.

The two humans just stood dumbstruck with awe and amazement. "Whoa,"

"Yeah, whoa,"

"No wonder Viggo has been able to endure even after all of our efforts. He must've started stocking this place before he was an adult!"

Fishlegs suddenly exploded. "All this and Viggo complains about losing money! That money grubbing skinflint! I'll bet he's got more wealth in here than any ten Viking tribes put together! Think of all the good that could be done with it—that hospital would be a million times more wholesome if just a pile of this added to their finances! Think of all the misery he's caused us, and for what? For his pride and something he's already got plenty of!" he kicked a pile of gold. The pile did not budge and he grabbed his foot as he cried out in pain. "OW! Stupid bunch of gold! Cold and hard pieces of metal. It just suits a man like Viggo!" He turned to the Flugarums, who had yet to enter the vault. " **All right, boys, come on in and eat up**!"

" **Eat up**?" one poked his head in and his mouth fell opened. " **Oh my tasty earth and pounds of produce! It's the feast of a lifetime**!" He leapt into the room and started gobbling down the contents of the nearest pile. The others followed him in at once and joined in the feast.

"I don't think they'll be leaving anytime soon," Heather remarked, "Still…kinda a waste of money, don't you think?"

Fishlegs took some bags from Meatlug's saddle. "That's what these are for. Start filling them. We're taking all the treasure we can possibly carry out and the rest is for the Flugarums." He took a piece of parchment from his pocket and attached it to the wall with a nail and small hammer. "Hiccup told me to leave this behind, just in case Viggo ever returns here."

The parchment read thus:

" _Flugarums do so love the taste of good business_!"

 **Author's Note:**

 **There are now only 5 chapters left in this story. I have gotten a** _ **slight**_ **impression over the past months that readers do not really like cliffhanger endings, especially during the exciting moments, so to soften this somewhat, Chapters 37 and 38 will be posted together and Chapters 39 and 40 will be posted together. Chapter 41, which is unfinished and serves as an epilogue, shall be posted by itself. The posting dates have yet to be determined.**


	37. Chapter 37

**I was going to post these two chapters yesterday, but the news made me so upset and so angry that I was not in the mood for Fanfiction.**

 **I Own Nothing**

 **All Rights Reserved**

 **Chapter 37**

 **The Battle on Ice**

It was late in the winter afternoon. Large stagnant clouds hung heavily in the gray sky. The Vikings were still hard at work at their defenses, and everyone was on the alert. Several times a minute each person would look stop what they were doing and look around, anxious to see some sign of a dragon. The relief in not seeing any was great, but the strain of waiting was even greater. Most of them would have preferred to get the fight started then and there rather than have another week to build stronger lines.

It was freezing cold. From his position in the rear Scolder the Boulder found he could hardly see anything beyond their lines because so much breath was visible. It was as though a small fog cloud was hovering right over the army. He pulled his cloak tighter around his shoulders and shook the snow out of his boots.

"Where are they?" he demanded. Mogadon and the other Chiefs shrugged. "I'll bet they aren't even going to attack at all! They've probably just lured us here to have us die of boredom!"

"Perhaps they wanted us here so they could move against Grimmige Festung," one Chief suggested. "We should return there at once!"

"And suppose you're wrong? Do you think Viggo's going to be understanding when we come back with nothing accomplished?" Mogadon retorted.

Scolder spat in the snow. "Viggo, Viggo, Viggo. Are we his thralls?"

" _You_ probably are," muttered Mogadon.

Scolder heard him. " _I_ sided with him to avenge my tribe's defeat last year! What's _your_ motive, _Meat Head_?"

"To share power with the strongest in the region until I can take it for myself. That's why we're all here and you know it." He turned away and looked at the horizon again. Nothing.

"Perhaps they're going to wait until night?" another Chief suggested, "Dragons are better suited for a night attack, after all. They can see better in the dark, and that Night Fury would certainly have the advantage of attacking by night."

"Is that Night Fury even here?" asked Scolder, "I haven't even glimpsed it."

"If Hiccup is here, the Night Fury will be here too," Mogadon said firmly, not removing his eyes from the horizon, "everyone knows those two are inseparable."

They watched and waited some more. Talking amongst the troops fell to a nervous minimum. A cold breeze rustled through their flags and stung their eyes, but that was the only movement not made by them.

"Where are they?" Scolder whispered impatiently, "I came here for revenge! Where _are_ they?"

Then they heard a shout from a sentry. Everyone instantly stopped their work and looked up. Off in the distance there appeared a large dark shape that had not been there earlier.

At once the Vikings rushed to their defenses. Spearmen and archers would wait in front, with the infantry in the trenches behind them, and in the rear were loaded catapults. Eels had been placed on the flanks and dragon nip had been strewn about the ground a few meters in front of the front ranks. The plan was to let the archers and catapults fend off every attack, while the trenches kept the infantry safe, and once the dragons were tired, wounded, and hopefully dizzy from the Nip, they would unleash the infantry to finish the job.

The dark shape was growing. Bit by bit it stretched out, until it virtually reached across the horizon. And as the line grew horizontally it began to grow in thickness as well. There was no doubting what they were seeing was an army of dragons in the distance. Nobody could yet see what kinds of dragons were in this horde, but it was clearly a substantial number.

"Why aren't they flying towards us?" asked Mogadon to nobody in particular. "Why are they all on the ground?" He looked up at the air. Perhaps this was merely a feint and the real attack would come from above. But the only objects in the sky were clouds. He then looked around the flanks and at the rear, but there was nothing there and no signs that anything would be. "What's your little plan, Hiccup?"

What he did not know was Hiccup was not even there. The only human present was Valka Haddock. Waving her long staff in the air to spur the dragons on, she said calmly " **All right, front ranks head in**!"

The front ranks were made up of Boulder Class dragons. They started picking up their pace and came thundering like a herd of charging bulls towards the Vikings. The Vikings lowered their spears, aimed their arrows, and braced themselves for impact. It was all the men in the front ranks could to hold their ground and not instinctively run, as most people would if scores of dragons the size of small elephants were running right towards them. The most frequently order given at this point was "Steady!"

And then all of a sudden the dragons froze, broke, and ran like maniacs back to the safety of their own ranks. They had caught the scent of the eels.

The Vikings burst into laughter.

"Yeah, take that!"

"Stupid dragons!"

"What's the matter? Afraid of a little sea serpent?"

"Cowards! Come back and fight!"

Up on Cloudjumper Valka smiled. " **I'd say the probe worked. Send in the Typhoomerangs**."

Cloudjumper gave the order. Being a dragon, his voice could carry further than Valka's.

The Typhoomerangs sprang into the air, shooting high before turning downwards and landing right in front of the Vikings. Their flight had been so sudden and seemingly random that nobody had had time to fire anything. Grinning, the dragons opened their mouths, grabbed the eels covering the snow, and wolfed them down.

Scolder whipped about to face Mogadon, "You never told me they could do that!"

"You never told me! Fight, you fools, fight for your lives! Attack!"

Evidently the dragons thought he was talking to them, because they obliged him by shooting fire at the wooden war machines. Meanwhile, the Boulder class dragons were charging again, and this time there were no eels to stop them.

" **Call me a coward, will you**?"

" **What's the matter, humans, afraid now that your little sea serpents are around to save you**?"

With such cries and roars they slammed into the ranks of humans. For the Vikings it was like being hit by a brick wall.

Whispering Deaths flung spikes at the Vikings, or roared with such insane ferocity even the bravest shook in their boots. Evictus the Timberjack was having a great time living up to his name and 'evicting' people from the trench, which had turned from a defensive position to a death trap. Scolder even wondered if Mogadon had put rival tribes in there _intending_ to let them be killed. A Skinkhard lost an arm to a sword and the Viking laughed, so the Skinkhard bite the man's own arm off.

" **Hah! I can grow limbs back, but I doubt you humans can**!"

But while it had become every man for himself, they had fought against dragons before, and knew some of their weaknesses. Several Vikings managed, mostly by sheer luck, to get close enough to Gronkles to hit them in their sensitive areas. Dragon Nip was shoved into their noses. Blind spots and shot limits were taken advantage of, and men pounded on their shields to disorient them. And the dragon's sizes and lumbering bulks made them fairly easy targets. But few dragons were actually killed outright—in the frantic chaos of the fight, most Vikings only had time to incapacitate a dragon before another target appeared which commanded their full attention. Of course, being Vikings, they knew where to strike to inflict serious injuries, and while many dragons were not killed outright, they were still injured too badly to be any more use in a battle.

After the shock of the sudden attack people were rallying and fighting back. It was rough going, Mogadon thought as he threw bolas at a Hotburple, but he felt they were holding their own. If this was all Hiccup had, they could prevail.

And then he saw a sea of green dragons sprinting towards their left flank. At once he rushed to the catapults on that section and ordered their missiles released. He had to shoot one himself to get the point across, since the men could not understand what he was shouting over the noise.

A volley of huge boulders was flung into the air, aimed to land directly where the Dragons already were. The ones in front would get through but the ones in the middle and back would be crushed, Mogadon thought smugly.

The dragons looked up, waited a few seconds, and then jumped right over the incoming volley while it was still in the air.

Mogadon's smugness was wiped off as surely as a rag wipes slime off boots. "How in the—"

" **They don't call us Treejumpers for nothing, you know**!" Shamrock laughed.

" **At 'em**!" shouted his Matriarch, in the front and keeping up despite her age.

The Treejumpers jumped over the pike men and into the midst of the enemy. From there on it was a free for all.

On the right, meanwhile, little had been going on after the Typhoomerangs ate the eels, for they had moved towards the trench and joined the melee in the army center. The men in this section watched the fighting behind them anxiously, but dared not shoot much for fear of hitting their comrades and dared not join in the battle lest the line would disintegrate. Then, without warning, Snow Demons, Snow Wraiths, and other white dragons burst from the snow like whales leaping from the sea, and engulfed the Vikings there.

If the Vikings had their tricks, so did the Dragons. One catapult crew was about to launch a projectile, only to discover Terrible Terrors climbing on the catapult and pulling the nails out of it. In another crew, one man went to get a projectile and found a Catastrophic Quaken eating it. When the man tried to drive the Quaken away she curled up into a ball, rolled towards him like a boulder in a landslide, and flattened the man.

The most useful trick for the dragons, of course, was their most famous one: shooting fire. Fires erupted everywhere, despite the snow. Catapults were burnt, supplies and tents were engulfed, and a group of Scuttleclaws decided to turn the Viking's makeshift forges into bonfires. Some Vikings threw snow and water but a fire brigade proved impossible to form, and if one fire was somehow put out five more were lit elsewhere.

The noise of the battle was incredible, with the shouts from every side, the clamoring of weapons, the screams of the wounded, the plumes of flames roaring through the air, the boulders being flung into the snow and into the masses of dragons, the thrashing sound of scales hitting armor, and the sounds of bones breaking. Orders given were heard by no one, not even the person giving them.

Midnight had crept like a wolf through the snow until the time was right, then she led the pack of Snow Demons from Greenland in their attack. The dragons may have moved like wolves but they were as large as full grown horses and considerably more dangerous. Yet despite the excitement of the battle; that thrilling rush of adrenaline that only someone who has experienced a death defying moment, she felt odd and incomplete without Camicazi. But that did not stop her from doing her utmost to whip the enemy.

On the other side of the battlefield, Shamrock fell into the snow, blood streaming from his neck. With a cry of pain he swung his tail at his attacker and sent them flying into a destroyed catapult. He clenched his teeth and looked around wildly. He then got to see all the casualties that littered the red snow. Men, women, youths, and dragons were lying in every conceivable position. Their bodies charred and mutilated and their faces showing the agony of their final moments. During the fighting he had not registered what had been happening to them. He had been running on adrenaline and had no time to think when he killed anyone. Feral instincts had taken over, to the point where he hardly registered what he was doing, he just scratched, hacked, bit, swatted, and breathed fire until there was nothing left to attack and then he would turn around and find a new target.

But now that he had snapped out of it, he looked around and felt sick. All of this death and for what? He knew why the dragons were fighting, but what on this earth could have prompted the Vikings have hoped to gain by being here?

And why were the dragons fighting? He had to ask it. Would it have harmed the Hatchling's plan if this battle had not taken place? Could they not have simply played around and stalled for time until Viggo was finished?

A Viking aimed his sword at Shamrock's neck and the Treejumper reacted instinctively. His doubts and questions left him, and his feral drive to kill and defend himself returned in full force, despite the neck injury. And as he fought he kept thinking of one thing: "We gave them enough chances to give up. This is on them! We gave them enough chances to give up. This is on them!"

All the same, when was accursed bloodshed going to end?

Whipping the opponent was becoming more than just a hope or goal, for the Vikings were breaking. The attack on the right was the last straw. Attacked on three sides by huge fire breathing monsters, their large weapons being smashed, their small weapons useless, and their ranks being weakened every second, they broke and ran for the ships, madly hoping that the dragons would be satisfied with their victory and permit them to flee.

Some Chiefs tried to rally them, plead with them, threaten them, inspire them, and anything else they could think of to try and get them back in the fight, but to no avail. So they gave up and joined the rout. Mogadon thought once they got to the ships they might be able to reorganize and counterattack, but a new sight stopped every human in their tracks. Trachyte the Eruptodon had landed between the Vikings and their ships and was spewing lava onto the ice underneath him. At the same time a horde of Fireworms slid into the rapidly growing crevasse and enlarged it even further with the heat from their bodies. A loud cracking sound was heard as the ice groaned and the island began to split apart.

"Impossible," Mogadon gasped, yet there was no denying what he was seeing was real. Now he understood why this island had not been on the maps. This island was nothing more than a huge sheet of ice. Somehow the Dragon King had made an island entirely of ice, thick enough for men and dragons to walk and fight on, and now that they were separated from their ships, a lava breathing dragon was splitting the island apart, cutting them off from their escape!

"What _is_ he?" Mogadon exclaimed, "How could a mere human have found a way to do accomplish all of this?"

Up in the sky, Valka and Cloudjumper watched the battle with concern but were not unduly worried.

" **Trachyte is cutting them off. Good. Then that means it's time for the final wave** ," she announced.

" **If only we had the Alpha here today** ," Cloudjumper said. By Alpha he meant the Bewilderbeast, " **He could crush this mob by simply sitting on them**!"

" **Sadly, Hiccup wanted him elsewhere after he made the island** ," Valka replied. " **Are you ready for a fight**?"

" **I am** ," Cloudjumper said, " **I intend to imagine these men are all Bludvist and pay them back for that spear wound**."

" **Whatever helps** ," Valka muttered. She waved her staff once again, and a new flock of dragons took to the skies. They had attacked on the front, left, right, and the rear. Now they would attack from the air and win the day.

From his bed of straw in the hospital, Snotlout groaned and writhed around in agony like a sidewinder. Ingrid continuously wiped away the perspiration from his face and gave him water—clean water this time—but she had never felt so helpless. Nothing she did seemed to make a difference. Doctors came by occasionally but they only gave her a few suggestions, warned her to take care she did not fall ill herself, and reminded her that there was little hope for Snotlout.

For Snotlout, this whole time was one of constant torment. His insides seemed to be full of garbage, his senses felt like they did when underwater, yet his mind and stomach were burning him alive, killing him with pain. He was hardly aware of what was happening around him or what he was doing. Food and water was shoved down his throat without him realizing it. People spoke to him and he heard nothing, or if he did, what they said did not register to him. When someone asked "How are you feeling," a rather dumb question, he did not seem to realize that they were talking to him. And then, as if to answer these questions, his stomach would hurt again and cause him to double up like a pill bug and plead for something or someone to make it all stop.

Leagues upon leagues away, Mogadon was resolved to go down fighting. His only other desire was to find the Dragon King and kill him first. He spotted a human on the back of a dragon and, not registering that the person's garb looked nothing like Hiccup's, he forced his way over to them.

Cloudjumper had landed on ice so that Valka could actually do some fighting. She was not about to let others risk their lives while she did not. It felt very much like the last dragon raid she had ever witnessed on Berk, where she was running up to Vikings to stop them from harming dragons. And if people had listened to her then, all of these calamities might have been averted. Cloudjumper meanwhile had abandoned all the self-restraint and was a complete monster, blasting his foes into cinders, sweeping them away with his four wings, and breaking spines and ribcages with his powerful tail, as if his bloodlust ration was overdue and he needed to make up for the lost time. This frenzy caused him to get separated from Valka, not that either of them really realized it until Valka suddenly found herself facing a charging Mogadon.

"Die, Dragon King!" he roared, rushing towards her with his sword at the ready. Valka nimbly dodged the huge man and laughed.

"Oh, I'm not the Dragon King! You could say you're looking at the Dragon Dowager!"

Mogadon, full of bloodlust, did not understand a word she said and hardly noticed the feminine voice. "No matter! I'll finish you all off!"

Valka's staff blocked his sword and she slid around him. "You and what army?"

"I have more men on my island!"

"Can they hear you? How do you plan to reach them? By swimming?"

He was becoming enraged now. "Once we've finished you all off we'll make rafts from your bones and sail back!" He swung his sword wildly, but Valka's mad laughter infuriated him so much that his blows harmed no one.

"You've lost and everyone knows it!" she taunted, "Look around you, you fool!"

"Then we'll all go down fighting!"

"Vikings," she muttered, "It's crazy how stubborn they are! I wish I could knock some sense into that thick skull of yours—!" And she slammed her staff into his head so fiercely it snapped and he saw stars as he fell into the snow.

And from there he saw that what she had told him was true. The Viking tribes were being torn to pieces. Without reinforcements that would never come they could not hope to win. Perhaps they had never had a hope of winning. Perhaps Viggo had known that and sent them out anyway.

Valka picked a sword up from the snow and pointed it at him. "Let this end now."

Mogadon swallowed and nodded, but he looked around and shrugged helplessly. How was he supposed to stop this much fighting?

Valka scowled at him. "Are you people really so helpless when it comes to stopping bloodshed? **Cloudjumper**!"

The Stormcutter heard the cry and flew over as quickly as he could. " **What is it? What has happened**?"

" **Tell our side to get in the air and fall back**."

Cloudjumper was aghast. " **Fall back**?"

" **So the fighting can stop and these people can put away their weapons**."

" **Oh. So it is over**?"

She nodded, keeping her eyes on Mogadon. "Tell him it's over. Let him hear it from your own mouth."

"It's over," Mogadon yelled bitterly, "It's over! Stop fighting, everyone! Drop your weapons! It's over!" he burst into tears. He had once had all kinds of plans for the advancement and glory of the Meatheads, and now he had succeeded only wrecking his own tribe. Perhaps it was just as well he had disinherited Thuggory, because now Thuggory had nothing left to inherit.

Scolder felt otherwise when he heard the word going around to stop fighting and surrender. "Never! No surrendering! Berserkers keep fighting! Our tribe must be avenged!"

Then Evictus sprang from behind a snow bank. With a casual swing of his large clawed wings, the Timberjack sent him flying through the air and into the crevasse the Fireworms had made.

If Mogadon's orders had not been enough to convince them to give up, Scolder's sudden end settled the matter for the Vikings. In quick succession they threw down their weapons and raised their hands, if they had not already done so. The Dragons, meanwhile, flew into the air and started hovering in a circular formation, their mouths opened wide and glowing with fires. The message was clear: try anything and we will roast the lot of you.

Valka and Cloudjumper were among the few from their side still on the ground. Valka eyed their prisoners with scorn and spoke in a commanding tone that amazed them. "Now listen up, all of you! You're our prisoners now, and all that you have belongs to us, including your islands, and we will use everything as we see fit. Anyone who objects gets thrown into the sea!"

"Will we not be allowed to return home?" a Berserker blurted out. That had happened when the war with Drago Bludvist had ended, after a huge ransom had been paid. He was clearly hoping History would repeat itself.

Valka glared at him. "No. Last time, Hiccup showed your tribe mercy, even though he had no obligations to, and you've repaid him by siding with Berk's enemies again. And we gave you the chance to give up before the battle and you ignored us. You've gone too far now to be allowed to just hop home as if nothing has happened."

"Then what's gonna happen to us?" Mogadon asked nervously.

Valka smiled unpleasantly. "Since you decided to side with those who shipped our tribe into slavery, we're going to do something similar. We're going to carry each and every one of you to random parts of Europe and leave you there, scattered and alone. What you do then is up to you. Consider it poetic justice." But first they had to tend to the wounded, so Valka had the dragons herd the prisoners away like a flock of sheep.

" **Do not forget, the boy Thuggory asked us to spare his tribe this fate** ," Cloudjumper said. " **He promised alliances and temporary tributes to Berk and your son agreed,** "

" **Yes, but I wonder if they'll let him be their Chief** ," Valka said grimly. She also wondered how much of Thuggory's tribe remained.

" **Perhaps, since their current Beta has failed them, they will be willing to listen to a more rational one** ,"

" **Or they'll just want revenge like the Berserkers and side with the next power that wants Berk out of the way. Some things don't change, no matter how considerate we try to be**."

" **What can we do? Kill everyone that does not belong to our nest**?"

Valka smiled slightly, " _ **Our**_ **nest? Are you talking about Berk or Greenland**?"

" **Well…em…** "

Valka turned away from her old friend to tend to a wounded Gronkle.

In the hospital Ingrid had been nodding off when a doctor gently put a hand on her shoulder and startled her.

"Another table—can't they just give me a—oh, sorry," she said sheepishly, "I must've been dreaming,"

"It's all right," the doctor said, "I came to look at your friend."

He made a short examination of Snotlout. He was still in a lot of pain and twitching all the time, but even someone infected with cholera had to sleep sooner or later. He had been sleeping for a little while.

"Good," the doctor said approvingly, "What he needs most is rest."

"What do you think his chances are?" Ingrid asked tentatively.

The doctor's face grew lined and careworn. "It's hard to say. Those with cholera can die within a few hours to a week after contracting it. He's survived several days, yes, but that's no guarantee he'll survive the coming ones. If anything, the coming stages may be the worst."

"But if he makes it through them?"

"If he survives another three or four days, I would say he will recover. But few do. Don't get your hopes up."

The doctor left. Snotlout woke up soon afterwards. He seemed a little better, but that was like comparing a small storm to a hurricane. He still felt horrible. Ingrid told him the news, which seemed to please him.

"I'll make it," he said, looking more like his normal self, though still a mere shadow of it, "I'm good at defying the odds. I could blot out the sun if I felt it worth the time,"

"That's good to know," Ingrid said, forcing a smile.

"And when I get out of here, I'll never touch water again,"

"That's probably wise,"

"I won't even bathe,"

Ingrid frowned. Snotlout laughed hoarsely at her expression. "You know what I want most when this is over?"

"What?"

"I just want to find someone who'll love me. She'd have to be unbelievably hot, of course, but I—well, you know, I saw Hiccup marry Astrid, I think Fishy wants Heather, I've seen Ruff get all starry eyed over that Eret man, and then there's Thuggory and Cami—and, well, I've just been wondering lately, when is it my turn?"

"Consider yourself lucky you're not a woman," Ingrid said bitterly, "Here fathers just trade us off like cattle to the highest bidder. My father hasn't gotten rid of me yet only because he still wants someone to help around the inn."

Snotlout could feel the slight reprieve ending. "Yeah, well, I'd love to hug and kiss a beautiful woman and—hurk—not have her be repulsed and throw me off for once—I—I—" he rolled over and vomited again.

" **Everlasting Ice** ," Cloudjumper said, shaking his head bitterly after gazing over the smoldering carnage of the battlefield, " **I had forgotten how things are after a battle. Everlasting Ice**."

" **Not so everlasting, actually** ," cracked Trachyte, " **I melted it pretty quickly** ,"

Cloudjumper scowled at him. " **You think this is funny, do you**?"

" **No, but If I couldn't joke while seeing mangled dragons bleeding to death I'd lose my mind** ," he retorted as he licked the wounds of a Typhoomerang.

" **Much obliged** ,"

" **No problem, err** —"

" **Torch. I'm disappointed, you know. I was expecting it to be bigger!"**

" **Be grateful it was no worse,"** Cloudjumper snapped, " **Even the greatest victories in history came with charred and dismembered bodies and grieving family members** ,"

Midnight nearly had a heart attack when she saw Shamrock's wounded neck.

" **Oh don't go wailing like a hatchling, 'Night, it's not that bad** ,"

" **Not that** _ **bad**_?" she shrieked. " **It looks awful! Here—hold still, will you? I'm trying to clean it! Sheesh, you're as bad as Cami** ,"

Such exchanges were common for the dragons. They refused to acknowledge they were wounded badly, if at all. It was noble and pointlessly stupid, and it did not fool anyone. The Vikings, of whom there were a lot more casualties and a higher likelihood of fatalities, were less gallant, but there was a reason for it. They had lost. They had lost the battle, lost this war, would probably lose all their property, their homes, and friends, and now, when it seemed it could not get any worse, many stood a good chance of losing their lives. They felt they had every right to sink into self-pity and plead for their wounds to be treated before anyone else's. But there were others who were too proud, noble, or miserable to plead for help. They waited their turn, hoping they would reach Valhalla this way. Valhalla certainly sounded preferable to a hard life of exile and servitude.

Valka did what she could where she could, but it was still a fact that she was no healer. Indeed, there were no healers at all on this island. Evidently the Vikings had been so eager for battle they had never spared a thought to the need of medical supplies or people who knew how to use them. And now they were paying grievously for that oversight.

It all seemed senseless now. All this carnage, death, and loss and for what? Had they all just been pawns used by Viggo and Hiccup for their own ends, or was there a higher purpose behind this? Was this the dawning of a new, better, and wiser time in history, or would people mourn for a few weeks and then revert to their old lives until the next calamity? What was the reason for so many lives destroyed?

Ingrid left the hospital for a little to get some fresh air. When she returned she found Snotlout in extremely severe discomfort, but somewhat coherent.

"Something odd happened when I was outside," she said, hoping to distract him from the pain, if only for a few minutes.

"Yeah?" he rasped, "water…"

"Here—don't worry, it's been boiled, I've seen to it. Anyway, I was standing outside the building and I thought I was being watched. And I heard a sniffing sound coming from above me, so I looked up at the hospital roof and, I could swear it, I saw something moving up there. Something big and black. I could only make out the faintest outline."

"Could've been a dragon. Hiccup prob-ly asked someone to keep an eye on us…"

"It was pretty big, whatever it was. The sniffing stopped and I think it moved away. I tried to get a better look and saw nothing."

Snotlout gagged on the water he was trying to swallow. "Oh well. That's life, isn't it? You try for something better…and get…nothing…"

He gave her a smile.

The Dragon King sat on a large rock in the middle of the sea. He listened to the waves smashing into the nearby sea stacks. It reminded him of the dragon race they had held the day the Defenders of the Wing came into their lives. The day that changed everything. And through it all, these waves had crashed into the rocks, eating away at them bit by bit, completely ignorant of what the rest of the world was doing, like Time itself.

He stirred when Sharpshot arrived with a sheet of parchment. He glanced over it and held it up for the Terrible Terror to burn.

" **So, Parts One, Two, and Five have been accomplished successfully. Unfortunately, Parts Three and Four are going to be the most difficult. Well, Bud, let's get…** " he looked behind him and his smile faded. " **Sharpshot, would you get Stormfly for me, please**?"


	38. Chapter 38

**I Own Nothing**

 **All Rights Reserved**

 **Chapter 38**

" **Jennnawal Wufus Doofus"**

Throk did his utmost to look calm and confident as he approached Grimmige Festung. It was a truly formidable looking place, and the black marble made it ominous to behold and, dare he say it, odious. He was dressed up to resemble a Meat Head Viking. He carried in one hand a piece of parchment in a waterproof cylinder, and in the other hand a sack. As he approached the gates a guard yelled down, "Halt! Who goes there?"

"A messenger from Chief Mogadon!" he yelled back, "I have an urgent message for your master and it's vital he see it immediately!"

The doors were quickly opened and he entered a long, dark, and dank corridor. He wondered how many people had come to cough up blood in this place.

A few grimy torches were lit here and there, but for the most part the place was pure darkness, and the only reason Throk did not lose his way was because there was no other way to go. If the intention was to intimidate visitors Viggo had succeeded very well, for Throk walked a bit more jumpy than usual, and often stopped anticipating an ambush. Where was everybody? The doorkeepers had vanished up a staircase as soon as the doors were shut, but aside from that he saw no one. If it had not been for the visible guards on the battlements he might have suspected the place was uninhabited.

And then he came to a great hall of sorts, which appeared to double as a meeting room and dining area. It was still built with black marble but there were a lot more torches, a roaring fire in one corner, upon which a stuck pig was roasting, and a great chandelier hanging from the ceiling. The fires gave the room a deep orange tinge which suited the black walls perfectly. In the back of the room was a large dais which a decaying statue of Hel, the Viking Goddess of one of realms of the dead. A fitting place for her! At her feet were statues of dead dragons, and Throk noticed with disgust that the gown the she wore was made of real dragon skin. Stair cases branched off on both sides of the room and coiled behind this dais, forming a kind of balcony directly behind and above her. Directly in front of her sat Viggo Grimborn. He sat as still as the statue behind him, deep in thought. A few hunters stood nearby, waiting for his orders and too wary to break his concentration. Dagur the Deranged was checking on the pig and was the only person who looked at ease.

At length Viggo's eyes moved upwards and he saw Throk standing in front of him. "Yes?"

Throk bowed. "I bring an important message from Mogadon,"

"Skip the pleasantries and hand it over," Viggo said curtly. He pulled the document out and read it to himself in silence.

"What's it say?" Dagur asked impatiently.

Only when he knew the full content did Viggo read aloud. "Mogadon announces a complete victory over the army of dragons. He promises me he will bring us nearly 313 dead dragons and 91 live ones. He says the Dragon Kings' forces are broken and on the run, and he will commence a pursuit immediately. The Dragon King himself was severely injured in the battle."

Dagur cheered wildly at the news and several hunters started to join in, but Viggo's cold reaction checked their celebration.

"This is not Mogadon's handwriting. Why not?"

"He didn't have any parchment on him at the time and he wanted to get a message to you as quickly as possible. So he dictated it. The handwriting's mine. I came as quickly as I could, Sir. I expect very soon he'll sail here himself to give you the details. I assure you Sir I was there myself and saw it all. It was quite a battle, but in the end we broke them with some of your tricks and…" he held up his sack and dumped its contents onto the floor. It was a bloodstained prosthetic. "Mogadon told me to tell you he'll bring you the rest of the Dragon King soon."

Viggo nodded slowly and finally allowed himself a smile. Everyone began cheering again and this time without restraint. Throk bowed and was dismissed, with orders to return to Mogadon at once and tell him Viggo would hold him to his promises.

"You know, Viggo," Dagur remarked, "This is a happy day! We should celebrate it properly!"

"There is still much to be done. Until Hiccup's dead body is in front of me I cannot afford to rest."

"Oh come on, drop the work for one night! You've won a great victory; you can afford a little relaxation! Too much stress is going to wear you out! You need a distraction, something entertaining, something to make you laugh! Laughter's very good, you know!" He snapped his fingers. "And I know just the thing! When I was out with Heather earlier this week we stopped in a nearby village and saw posters announcing a gypsy troop would be performing there! How about I invite them to come here and entertain us tonight? C'mon Viggo, old buddy, old, pal, it would do us all good to blow off a little steam and have some entertainment! Oh, and get this: the poster proclaimed proudly to have, in this gypsy troop, the greatest champion of Maces and Talons of the century!"

 _That_ got Viggo's attention. "Really?"

"Yes! Think about it! We could have the greatest Maces and Talons game in history right here! The Grand Champion against Viggo Grimborn! What a match it would be! And think about it, Vigg! I can see your name on all the posters around—in letters six meters high—Viggo Grimborn, the Conqueror of Dragons and the Greatest Champion of Maces and Talons in existence!"

Viggo felt himself giving into what Dagur said. He had to admit it would do him good to relax a little. And he was especially intrigued by this Maces and Talons champion. He doubted the boast was true, but he was still interested in seeing just how good they really were. "All right, Dagur, find these gypsies and hire them for the night."

Dagur was gone for nearly half the day. Upon his return to Grimmige Festung he skipped down to the cells singing:

" _I know a man whose name is 'Paul'_

 _He can jump higher than a wall_

 _And that's coz walls can't jump at all!_

 _Kill a dragon for the lassie_!"

He jumped forward and struck a pose as if an actor who had just finished his greatest performance.

"Good evening everybody!"

"And what's good about it?" one guard yelled irritably, "We get to spend another long night in this frozen hole watching a bunch of boring old prisoners!"

It was true. Most of the Berkian prisoners were too depressed now to do much. Scarcely three words a day were uttered by anyone. They were mere phantoms of their former selves and more skeletal than living.

Dagur just laughed. "I'll be sure to bring your complaints to Viggo! I'm sure he'll be happy to address them! I know I'd hate to wear a dress, but maybe these complaints won't mind! Oh, and I also came to warn you all about something," his voice became lowered, his expression alarmed, and his words earnest. "Don't even _think_ about ghosts while you're down here!"

The guards exchanged confused glances.

"You heard me! These cells are haunted! Headless ghosts and goblins! And they'll come for you in the dark if you don't take care! Take care you don't lose your heads, just like I did!" His eyes were bulging and his fingers were twitching.

" _Beware! Beware!_

 _They'll come for you without a doubt!_

 _Beware! Take care!_

 _They'll get you if you don't watch out_!"

The guards snorted and one said impatiently, "Don't you have anything better to do?"

Dagur grabbed the man and held a knife to his throat. "You mind your manners! I'm not as forgiving as myself! With one knife I can end your life just like this!" He jabbed the knife forward. The man shrieked and tried to break free, but Dagur intentionally stopped the blade before it pierced him.

He laughed. And the guard laughed with nervous relief. Then Dagur stabbed him in the chest.

"I don't like it when people laugh at me! It's rude, that's what it is!"

He turned away from the body and looked at the stunned guards. "Make sure his ghost doesn't come for you lot tonight—or me either! Well, good evening everybody!"

And with that he skipped off again.

" _I know a Hic whose name is Cup!_

 _He's as cute as a dragon pup!_

 _Comes at night when the moon's not up!_

 _Kill a dragon for the lassie_!"

While the shaken guards went to work disposing of the body, the imprisoned Berkians exchanged glances, wondering if there was a hidden meaning behind Dagur's words. A thrill of anticipation and excitement came upon some for the first time in weeks.

Night had fallen over the Fortress by the time the troop of gypsies reached its gates and were allowed admittance. Some distance away and in the air, invisible to the watchmen, Stormfly the Nadder was hovering. On her back sat the Dragon King, watching their progress through his spyglass. He directed the glass to look down below the Fortress, over the water, and then at last towards one of the walls, where he could see a faint light burning a dull red color. He nodded approvingly.

" **The door's closed** ," Stormfly announced.

" **So it has. All right, start ascending**."

" **Are you** _ **sure**_ **this is a good idea? What if someone sees you**?"

" **They won't see me because they'll see you first**."

" **And what if you miss the window**?"

" **You let me worry about that. And it sounds like Deafpool is in position. Let's get moving.** "

Inside the Fortress, before any gypsy show could start, Viggo sat up attentively. "That's a Thunderdrum call!"

Indeed it was. Such a roar was unmistakable even for the merest amateur. Viggo listened eagerly for a moment. "Is it just flying by or is it going to stay here for a while?"

One of the gypsies bowed deeply, "If it please yer eminence, I heard not too long 'go this very day that some dragon was seen buildin' a nest upstream,"

"A Thunderdrum on our own doorstep!" Dagur cried, "Well, Viggo? Shall we go catch it?"

Viggo nodded quickly. "Send some hunters out at once! It will be one more prize to add to my list of accomplishments. Now, who is this Maces and Talons Champion?"

"Patience, yer eminence, patience! Let's have some laughs first 'n save the best fer last!"

Viggo wanted to play Maces and Talons, but opted to let them have their way. Why not? He had all night.

And as they finished preparing for the show the Thunderdrum continued to roar away, to the point where everyone began to unwittingly tune the noise out.

Out on the water Deafpool roared as loudly as he could. A Thunderdrum always repaid its debts, and since he owed those strange Merpeople-with-legs his life, when the Dragon King had asked him to do this he had at once agreed. The way he interpreted his job, it was as if the entire undersea realm rested upon his scales, and he acted accordingly. While he roared, it would be very hard to hear any other noise coming from outside, and that was just what the Dragon King wanted.

Three hunters had been sent out to catch the Thunderdrum. They had only gone about a hundred yards when a group of Changewings grabbed them. Nobody could hear their cries.

Elsewhere, Queen Mala glanced at her map and showed it to the Whispering Death that was hovering before her. "We are positioned approximately here and we need you to ensure we reach this location located here. If you are able to chew a pathway through—"

" **Yeah, yeah, I know, the Hatchling already told me, and in a lot fewer words** ," the Whispering Death muttered impatiently. She had no idea what he was saying so she kept talking, until the dragon turned towards the rock face before them. Grimmige Festung stood on a Fjord, and they were directly behind and below the Fortress, out where the sentries could not see them. The Whispering Death opened his giant mouth, with the rows of razor sharp teeth, and began to chew his way into the earth.

Up in the air, when they had flown high enough, the Dragon King braced himself and leapt off of Stormfly. She at once dropped in height and swooped over the battlements of the fortress. She could see the sentries pointing and aiming their weapons, but she knew she was going too fast for them. The thought pleased her greatly. She had decided that because Viggo had helped built Drago's iron ship, he was also indirectly responsible for the death of her hatchlings. Tonight she saw herself as settling this debt and saving her humans at the same time. And when that was done, if that Razorwhip did not fail them, she promised she would try to forgive it. But she had to focus on her flying now. It was essential to keep the sentries looking at her and not at Hiccup, who was about to spread his own wings.

The Dragon King had very rarely tried a jump from this height. The wind whipped past him at an insane speed until he released Dragonfly 45. He immediately began gliding downwards, speeding directly towards the Fortress wall. Dragonfly 45 had been built specifically for this jump. It was a modified version of an early design, with the intention being to allow his arms freedom so he could hold his shield.

"Not yet, not yet, fire it…now!" Less than a hundred meters from the ground he aimed his shield at the window with the red light. In the center of his shield was a grappling hook and he fired it directly at the window. His aim was true and it caught, anchoring him to Grimmige Festung. He clenched the shield tightly and braced himself as he swung into the wall at an alarming speed.

"I'm beginning to think I should've just walked over," he muttered right before impact. But the rope was not long enough to reach that window from the ground.

He slammed into the wall. It was all he could do to not cry out in pain. Every limb screamed in agony and for a moment he felt incredibly dizzy, so dizzy he hung there without moving.

"Ugh, I'm going to feel this tomorrow." He groaned. Then, with a shake of his head and several deep breaths, he began reeling in the rope, which pulled him upwards to the window.

And all the while the sentries did not hear or see a thing. Deafpool's roars and Stormfly's appearance had them looking completely the wrong way. Stormfly had flown off by then, but none of the sentries were interested in telling Viggo about her presence. It would mean admitting a Nadder had flown right over them and still gotten away. Discretion was the better part of valor in this case, and it was just as well for the Dragon King, for Viggo would almost certainly have become suspicious had he known that a Thunderdrum _and_ a Nadder were in this vicinity at the exact same time, assuming he was not suspicious already.

As it was, Hiccup climbed up the side of the Fortress without any trouble beyond the pain of his growing bruises. When he reached the window a pair of strong arms grabbed him and pulled him into the room. His first reaction was to hug his wife as tightly as he possibly could. Then he punched her in the shoulder.

"Never pull a stunt like this again! You've had me worried sick!"

"I could say the same to you!" Astrid retorted, trying to sound angry but grinning. "What in the name of Odin have you been?"

"I was a prisoner too. I'll explain more later." He looked around quickly.

"Ryker isn't here, thank goodness."

"He's dead." One reason for getting Ryker out of the way was so Astrid could set a signal in the window without risking discovery.

She paused slightly. "Heather didn't tell me that was going to happen. She's hardly told me anything, just 'make sure to have a candle in the window on this night and wait for you'. What's the plan?"

"Mala's team should be underground by now, and the Bog Burglars are distracting Viggo as we speak. C'mon, we're going to avenge Berk and restore her."

"Suits me just fine,"

They stole up to the door, picked the lock with ease, and slipped into the corridor.

Standing with a group of Bog Burglars who were dressed up as knights, Thuggory felt incredibly foolish in his costume and suspected this had been Camicazi's idea. He was dressed up like a knight too, complete with a rusty old helmet that felt like a bucket. It covered his entire head, as did a sack specially sewn for tonight. With these on he could hardly see, but it was essential to keep his face covered lest he be recognized.

All the pseudo knights had to do was stand still and not laugh, while another of the Bog Burglars, dressed like someone of nobility, stood before them. This had not been rehearsed, so Thuggory had no idea what she was going to say. He just kept reminding himself to stay still and to not laugh or his voice might be recognized.

She said, in the most appalling accent that no one could tell if it was Norse, French, Scottish, or Italian, or some bizarre combination, "Now, Knights uv za Welm. Yoo-a have been sewected…today! to wecieve our bewoved Jennnnnnawal-a Wufus Doofus at yooour-a countwy wetweat! A gwave wesponsibility wests on yoooour shilders!"

Thuggory had the fight of his life trying not to laugh. The other Bog Burglars, whose faces were visible to the spectators, were having an equally hard time keeping a straight face. It was part of the humor behind this skit. As for the spectators, most were doubling over and roaring with laughter. Even Viggo was starting to crack a smile.

"Jennnnnnnawal-a Wufus Doofus is zee most…stwict and wespected Jennnnnnawal in the welm…today! He is stwong! Sens-a-teeeeve! And he wides the pwettiest horsey in all the vorld—except for the one wode by Jullllius Seize-her. But zat ees besides zee pint! Zee pint is Jennnnnnnawal-a Wufus Doofus is a gweat man, and if you should…. _cwoss_ him...he vill be so put out, he vill give yous a very nasty bimp on ze four-hed."

Not being allowed to laugh turned this into cruel and unusual punishment, Thuggory decided. No, this was straight up torture! The Bog Burglar next to him started giggling.

"Stop that! Jennnnnnnawal-a Wufus Doofus hates waughter! Stop it! This is no waughing matter! Ooooh, he vill give yous lotsa nasty bimps fer zis!"

As if to emphasize, she suddenly hit Thuggory on the head. The noise from the struck helmet rang out like a gong. The blow did not hurt him, but he staggered and struggled to stay on his feet, which made the audience laugh even harder.

Viggo suddenly interrupted. "This is all childishly amusing, but where is the Maces and Talons champion?"

"Shut it, yous!" the Bog Burglar said without missing a beat or breaking character, "Jennnnnnawal-a Wufus Doofus does not—vhat are yous all waughing about! Zis ees not funny! Yous ees all gonna git nasty bimps on za four-hed! Siwence! I've nevvvvva heard such insowence! Silwence! Jennnnnnnawal-a Wufus Doofus and his wife Ima vill be howwified by such wespectful-less insowence! I should geeeve you all a hundwed lashes for dis!"

It was hopeless to try and stop the laughing, and that was the point of the comedy. It was also one more way to cover up any noises that might be heard from elsewhere in the fortress.

Down in the cells the guards had been very jumpy ever since Dagur had passed through. The passages around the cells, dark, damp, and lit only by menacing torches, did nothing to improve the atmosphere. On the contrary, those only increased the sense of something supernatural and dangerous lurking around a corner.

"You think Dagur was right, about headless ghosts and goblins?"

"I don't know."

"But since when is Dagur ever right?"

"Still, crazy people are more likely to know! Their minds are more connected to ghosts and goblins than ours are. He might be able to sense something we can't!"

"What is that?" one guard suddenly cried. They could hear a grinding sound that was steadily growing louder.

"What _is_ that?"

"I don't know!"

"It's a goblin! We're doomed!"

"Why don't you go and find out?" Greta Hofferson yelled irritably from her cell.

"Should we get Viggo?" asked another guard nervously.

"And tell him we're afraid of noises and have no idea what's causing them? C'mon, you bunch of cowards!" With that he prodded a few comrades with his sword. His words and actions were a lot braver than he really felt.

They cautiously crept down the passageway, weapons held in trembling hands.

"I heard something! I think there's something over there!" one of them whispered.

Suddenly something ghastly and luminous leapt in front of them, screeching loudly. The men screamed, for the specter was headless!

"It's the headless ghost!"

"RUN FOR IT!" It was the last thing any of them ever said, for a flurry of arrows struck them all down.

"You know," Queen Mala said coldly to Camicazi as she pulled off a sack covered in Changewing scales and her head became visible, "There was no need for such theatrics,"

"Now where's the fun in that?" she asked lightly. "Besides, a frightened enemy is half beaten." Even with her head visible, Camicazi looked like a ghost. She had eaten some of Glowing Algae that Flightmares often consumed, and the result was her body was glowing light blue, even through her clothes. Her mother was very proud of her adventurous spirit.

Other guards had heard the noise and came to investigate, just as expected. Much like their former colleagues, it was the last thing they ever did. The Defenders of the Wing may have been deficient in some matters, but they were superbly deadly with their arrows.

Bertha grabbed the key from one of the fallen guards and rushed to the nearest cage. The prisoners recognized her at once and cried out in delight.

"Don't do that or we might be discovered!" she warned quickly. Screams were one thing coming from dungeons, but joyous cries were quite another. It was hard for the prisoners to obey her, despite their weakened physical conditions.

"Where's my daughter?" Greta said.

"Where's my husband?" another asked.

"Where's mama?"

"Is Hiccup here?"

Bertha held up her hand before everybody began asking questions, "We'll explain everything later. Right now we need to get moving!"

A handful of the rescuers took up the task of helping the freed Berkians out through the tunnel. Outside Persephone and a squad of dragons were waiting to fly them to safety. The rest, led by Bertha and Mala, and including Eret and the Thorsten Twins, crept up the stairs out of the dungeon.

Unaware of what was going on below, but feeling the show had gone on long enough, Viggo impatiently struck a gong near his seat. The sound echoed throughout the halls and made the gypsies pause. "Well? Where is this champion?"

"Siwence! Our Bewoved—"

"That's enough with the jokes. Did Hiccup come up with them for you?" Viggo asked lightly. "Ah, that one's face betrays her. Luckily for me…"

A large mass of archers and swordsmen appeared on the staircases.

"…I didn't leave my home undefended. Kill them all."

The archers took aim.

Then Thuggory threw his helmet off. Like Camicazi, he appeared headless. The men did not panic and think of ghosts, but the sight was enough to get them to do a double take—after all, how many times had they seen a living person with no head?—and in that short pause the gypsies threw off their drab rags and revealed themselves to be fully armed Bog Burglars. The fight was on.

In one of Viggo's torture chambers, for perhaps the millionth time, Hookfang tried to find a way to loosen his bonds. How he hated this! He wanted to get free and fly with his human again, or just get free, or anything but this! And lighting up his beautiful body had no impact either.

The door was pushed opened. His eyes, one of the very few parts of him that could move without any hindrance, darted to it, expecting to see Viggo enter with a few strongmen to make him breathe into the Dragon Eye again. But no! He saw Ruffnut Thorsten.

"Hey, it's Hookfang!" she grinned, "How ya doing, old buddy?"

She had never addressed him like that before, and he soon realized what had put her in such a good mood. That Eret man was with her.

" **Just get me out of here**!" he tried to say, forgetting that neither Thorsten could understand Dragonese. But they got the point. Barf n' Belch squeezed through the doorway and carefully draped green smoke over his bonds. One of them (he often forgot which head was which) opened their mouth and a small flame was lit. Hookfang braced himself for the explosion that was about to happen.

As soon as the fighting in the entrance hall had commenced, Dagur had run off screaming like a little child. Nobody knew where he was going or why and nobody cared. They had more pressing matters to worry about. Arrows flew and struck many Bog Burglars, but their armor was prepared for that. They charged and the hall dissolved into a ferocious mob brawl, where every person was their own general, and there were friends and foes in every direction.

Viggo ran up the stairs, unnoticed by anyone. He did not care about leaving the fight; the guards could take care of it. After all, that was what he paid them for.

In the hall the Burglars and Thuggory suddenly began falling back to the passageway that led to the outside. Scenting victory, the hunters pressed forward, eager to finish them off. And then the iron chandelier came crashing onto them, with the Thorsten Twins falling with it.

"LOKIED!" they cheered. The hunters still standing turned around to see their old ally Eret alongside the Defenders of the Wing and the Burglar leaders as they swept into the room. And they were not alone, for Barf n' Belch and Hookfang were with them, and both meant business. The Monstrous Nightmare in particular was ready to live up to his name.

These men were not on the threshold of victory; they were in a vise that was tightening on them!

Viggo, completely unaware that his own forces were being pulverized, rushed into his room, taking care to bolt the door. He looked around but there was nowhere in his room to hide except under the bed, which he checked. He smiled with satisfaction. He was safe, and his room was undisturbed.

It was a sparse room. A bed was in the center, a desk in one corner, a Maces and Talons board in another, a simple chest of drawers in a third, and in the fourth was a smaller chest, covered with a Persian rug. He took care to step to the side of it, for the stone directly in front of this chest, the place a thief would be most likely to step, would trigger an axe on a swinging pendulum. He carefully unlocked the three padlocks, removed the false top, and pulled out his ledgers and the Dragon Eye.

Smiling with satisfaction he shut the lid to the chest and stood up. At that moment the door was literally pulled off its hinges. For once in his life, Viggo jumped in surprise.

"What the—!"

The Dragon King burst into the room and seized what Viggo was holding. Viggo pulled them back, the King pulled again and the ledgers slipped out of Viggo's grip. He tried to grab them back but the King tossed them to Astrid.

For an instant they all paused, standing tensely while wondering who would make the next move. Viggo carefully attached the Dragon Eye into his belt.

"How did you know when to enter here?"

"Your door isn't as soundproof as you think it is."

"And where were you hiding in the corridor?"

"That's for us to know and you to never find out," Astrid retorted, readying herself to jump at him.

Viggo suddenly darted onto a slab, pulled a lever, and slid down a trapdoor.

"Darn it!" Hiccup yelled, "Astrid, get yourself and those ledgers down to the dungeons! You'll find a tunnel to the outside. I'll catch up when I can!"

"No, I'm coming with you!"

"No! Those ledgers are vital to saving Berk! Get them to safety first and _then_ you can come and fight all you want!"

Astrid reluctantly held back. "Well just be careful! I don't want our child growing up fatherless!"

Hiccup stopped dead in his tracks and spun around to face her. "What did you just say?" One look at her beaming face was all he needed to confirm he had not misheard her. "You're not—"

"I am!" she cried, "I'm pregnant, Hiccup!"

For a moment he just stared at her. Then he gave her the biggest hug he could under the circumstances, quickly kissed her on the forehead, and leapt down the trapdoor cheering. A knife was thrown at him from an unseen source, but he took no notice.

"Hey, Viggo, guess what? I'm going to be a father! Whoohoo!"

A hand grabbed him by the arm and flung him to the stone floor.

"Congratulations," Viggo said dourly. He pointed a sword at Hiccup's throat. Hiccup kicked him in the shins with his metal leg and Viggo recoiled. Hiccup rolled away and Viggo kicked him in the side. His actions prevented Hiccup from getting onto his feet, and instead he rolled right into the wall and was cornered.

"And to think, if you had just accepted my offers of friendship we could have run the world together!" Viggo sneered. "But no, you just had to drive me to extremes! I wish it had not come to this, but we're fighting here tonight because of you, boy!"

"Oh really? Do you even understand why I'm here?" Hiccup gestured to his gauntlets. "My father gave me these. The man whom _you_ had beheaded."

Viggo leapt backwards. "Nice try, boy. I know those things can shoot flames, but I doubt they can reach this far."

Hiccup tapped a small lever, and a crossbow bolt shot from the gauntlet right into Viggo's shoulder. Viggo doubled over with a cry. Hiccup fired the other bolt from the other gauntlet and it grazed his enemy's face. Then Hiccup grabbed him and shoved him into the wall headfirst. "And to think, after all this time you should know to _never_ underestimate a Dragon Rider!"

Astrid tasted fresh air for the first time in weeks, and it felt wonderful. Never in living memory had she felt so alive, and it was helped by the sight of a Nadder landing near her.

" **Stormfly! Hey girl**!" she hugged her dragon around the neck as best as she could.

" **Did they hurt you anywhere? What's that stuff in your hands? Where's Hiccup**?"

" **I'm fine—here, let me get rid of these and we'll go after him**!"

Further off were the escaped Berkian prisoners. Greta Hofferson left this group and went rushing over to Astrid and Stormfly. She seized her daughter in the tightest embrace Astrid had ever known and then, for the first time in her life, Greta hit her.

"I don't know what you were planning, but don't you _ever_ do it to me again, young lady! I've been worried sick about you!"

"I'm sorry, mother. It didn't go the way I intended, I can tell you that. Here, take these. We'll need them to save the rest of the tribe!"

"All right, but where are you going?"

"I've gotta find Hiccup of course!" she leapt onto Stormfly, "C'mon, girl, I want to touch the clouds again!"

"Always going off to get in a fight without even thinking about it!" Greta yelled as they flew away, "Olaf, she got this from your side of the family!" She was actually proud of her daughter's tenacity, but equally terrified she might not see her again.

She returned to where the other escapees were hiding. The plan, as communicated to them, had been to leave at once, but everybody, human and dragon alike, wanted to see what happened, so they remained where they were, and once Greta joined them they all began asking her if she knew what was going on.

"My daughter's gone off to find Hiccup,"

"Well I hope she brings him back safely, because I wanna beat him to a pulp for leaving us in prison for so long!" one Viking shouted, and there were vigorous and cold nods of agreement.

In the dark corridor Viggo slipped away from the Dragon King and made his way to a door that led outside onto one of the battlements. From here he could easily slip away down a staircase. He patted the Dragon Eye, hanging from his belt, stepped into the night, and waited.

Hiccup appeared a moment later, but the instant he stepped outside he ducked. Viggo cursed loudly, for his attempt to decapitate his enemy failed. But in the process Viggo swung a second time and slashed Hiccup across the hand, giving him a long but fairly shallow cut. Viggo at once backed away for a better position and held his sword at the ready.

"Fight me if you dare, boy!"

The Dragon King held up a large hilt. With the darkness around them he looked as menacing as a demon from the afterlife. "I dare." A blade of cold steel emerged from one end. Viggo stepped forwards and the blades met. They parried and struck and dodged, each one fighting for their life with all their strength and skill. And unlike their first fight, in the Tabernas Desert, this time there was nothing to impede their attacks but their opponent's weapon.

After a skillful block the King ended up with his sword pointed in the wrong direction. Viggo thought he was about to win a victory, only for a second blade to extend from the hilt. Viggo backed away just in time. The second blade had nearly gone through his throat. Now the King held a weapon like a bladed quarterstaff, and he spun it around at almost dizzying speeds. It took every physical trick that Viggo knew to dodge them.

And yet, he sensed the King was not very proficient with this method of fighting. His attacks looked dangerous but they seemed to be few in number and not very powerful. Besides, as they moved along the confining battlements, the extended sword had limited space. So Viggo moved further along and backed up to where the rampart entered a turret, where the sword would have little mobility.

And then the King, to his astonishment, divided the hilt along the middle and converted his long staff-like sword into two conventional ones.

The King smirked at Viggo's surprise. He said harshly, "Neat, isn't it? My wife gave me these!"

So now he had two swords and was much more at ease with them. And Viggo was unused to fighting people who were left handed. But the King was well accustomed to dueling those who were right handed and as his strokes grew harder and more savage his expression became more ferocious.

Over on his position out on the surf, Deafpool squirmed with anxiety. He was entirely uninformed of the night's progress, and for all he knew the plan had been a total failure or complete success. Being in the dark like this made his mind wander and construct theories about what was going on and what he should do. So when he spotted Stormfly rising into the air with a person on her back, he assumed the person was the Dragon King and that the plan was ready to proceed to the final stage, even though he ought to have realized that Stormfly was flying in the wrong direction for that scenario to be true. Not sensing this, he changed the pitch and pattern of his cries.

At that signal, only vaguely perceptible underwater, the giant Bewilderbeast rose from the sea with a deafening roar. He reared up, throwing spray everywhere and making waves with every movement, and slammed his great tusks into the walls of Grimmige Festung.

Up on the battlements, the fighting paused at the sight. Viggo gaped in awe. "Look at all that ivory!"

The King slashed at him and landed a blow on his leg, "It figures you'd look at something beautiful and consider how to make a profit!"

In the hall the opposing sides heard a terrible noise, felt the room tremble and walls shake as if an earthquake had struck, and then saw the black wall pierced by a huge white tusk that sent the marble tumbling to the ground like a child's tower of blocks. Hiccup's allies cheered, while the hunters screamed. The tusk was pulled out and thrown against the wall again, and a second tusk penetrated the room this time. The hunters ran for the doors, only to discover they were locked. They had been locked on Viggo's orders, ironically so that the 'gypsies' could not escape!

Ruffnut laughed at the sight of them trying to break down the door. She turned to Eret, whom she had seldom strayed far from this whole time. "So how'd I do? Does my fighting prowess meet your approval? I know yours certainly met mine!"

Eret gave a noncommittal answer.

Throk of the Defenders said, "Your fighting prowess certainly impressed me, Lady Ruffnut Thorsten!"

"Yeah, whatever," she said dismissingly. She was not out to get his attention.

At that moment a fresh wave of marble came cascading down and Mala ordered them to pull back to the cells.

"As if we need the prompting!" Thuggory yelled, for he was already making his way there. A block came down less than a meter in front of him.

"Watch it!" Camicazi shouted.

He grinned, glad to see her looking worried for once. "I'm just fine, darling,"

"And I want you to be able to tell me that once we get out of here!"

Thuggory was taken aback by how sincere she sounded.

Ruffnut laughed some more. "Love on the battlefield! Oh, this is just—"

A hunk of marble fell on her head and she fell to the floor. Without stopping to think, Eret picked her up and carried her out. Tuffnut followed, not really concerned. After all, Ruff had been hit on the head plenty of times before.

The Berkians watched the black fortress twist and writhe with agony as its structure fell apart and collapsed under the force of the Bewilderbeast. This was a dragon they had only ever heard about, and they were awestruck by it. And to think that Hiccup had been the one to command it! They might have fallen to their knees and worshiped Hiccup as a god if he had been present, but they had no idea where he was. Neither did Astrid and Stormfly, for it was difficult to make out any details in the darkness and with all the motion and clashing of sights and smells Stormfly found tracking difficult.

Hiccup and Viggo were still on top of the battlements, fleeing for their lives as the floor beneath them collapsed into rubble. Viggo was infuriated and tried to strike at Hiccup at every opportunity, but in the chaos of the flight he seldom hit him and did no harm to the man.

"Not so impressive a place now, is it?"

"You'll pay for this!" Viggo roared, "I still have allies and resources the likes of which you cannot imagine!"

The King, who was in the lead, abruptly stopped, grabbed the Eye at Viggo's belt and pulled so hard the cord connecting it snapped.

"Thank you!"

Viggo responded with a slash at his arm. The King's response was ruined by the crumbling of the structure beneath their feet. When the wall lurched forward he knew they were out of time, and he leapt into the air and extended the leathery wings that were attached to his armor.

"I hope you're happy, Gods!" he shouted at the night sky as he glided to the ground, some distance away from where he imagined everybody else was, "Here's another one of my plans you decided to mess up for me!" The plan had been to destroy the castle _after_ everyone was out of it, but for reasons he did not know the Bewilderbeast had begun his work prematurely.

The Bewilderbeast, unaware of the mistake, slammed his colossal tail into the wall and raised it again for another blow when he froze in place. So did the other dragons. Each and every one stopped right in their tracks and stood still as statues.

Hiccup looked around in amazement, when he was suddenly snatched up by a pair of claws. Up into the air he went, away from the fight and the ruined fortress, away from his friends and family.

All Hiccup could determine was that a dragon had grabbed him, and at first he thought it was Stormfly. But that could not be, for whatever was carrying him clearly was unused to flying with extra weight, for they tilted and sagged, and he heard labored breathing.

As suddenly as the flight begun it ended. The dragon descended close to the ground and dropped Hiccup unceremoniously. He picked himself up with a groan and found he was surrounded by black shapes. Looking around quickly he saw the shapes were Night Furies. After four hundred years, the Alpha had emerged from hiding.


	39. Chapter 39

**I Own Nothing**

 **All Rights Reserved**

 **Author's Note: Mana, your last review compelled me to write yet another page in this very long story and make yet another plot alteration. Just letting you know! :)** **You'll see for yourself later.**

 **Brace Yourselves…**

 **Chapter 39**

 **Two Thrones Vacated**

Tuffnut prodded his sister's limp form. "C'mon sis, get up! Man, that head bash must've really done a number on her this time! She's never been out for this long!"

Astrid was only half listening. Her attention was focused on trying to find Hiccup, figuring out why the Bewilderbeast had stopped the fight, and why all their dragons had frozen in place.

" **Stormfly, what is it**?"

" **I don't know!"** the Nadder cried, " **I was ordered to stop! I haven't felt a power like this since that—since that Razorwhip took over our nest**!"

" **It's like when the Red Death was in charge**!" Hookfang shuddered, " **she'd command us to stop and everyone would freeze like those stone things you humans like to build—but this feels even worse**!"

Astrid translated for the others, who were all just as confused as the dragons were.

"What kind of creature has this kind of power?" Camicazi asked nervously.

"And where's Hiccup?" Greta Hofferson said.

Queen Mala gestured to Throk to follow her. "The Defenders will search for Viggo and the Dragon Eye. The rest of you spread out and find the Dragon King and the cause of this disturbance."

They had no way of knowing it, but they had no chance now of finding Hiccup without help from a dragon. He stood before the entire flock of Night Furies. Even the two young ones were there, half-hidden behind the legs of their parents. Nearly all the dragons were glaring at him. Agaruba and Menomem especially looked furious. Radamar and Sclepus in contrast looked worried, though Sclepus was much better at hiding it. As for Toothless, he was looking past Hiccup at the night sky, seemingly oblivious to what was going on before him.

The Alpha Salistus looked at Hiccup angrily, but Hiccup, once over his surprise, was just as angry. " **I don't believe it! Four centuries of skipping out on taking care of dragons, and now, just as I'm finishing off a dragon** _ **hunter**_ **, you show up and order things to stop! I mean, come on!** " he shouted, throwing his hands in the air in exasperation.

" **I want my armor! Where is it?"** Salistus demanded.

" **Are you serious? You came all this way for that? Well then, tell me, are you enjoying the fresh air and change in scenery?** "

" **No**!" Agaruba snarled, " **We came here to deal with you, you cursed spy!** "

" **I wasn't talking to you**!" Hiccup snapped. He was not in the mood to be courteous. " **You imprisoned me and my best friend while my island was sacked, my father murdered, my family and tribe imprisoned and scattered, to be sold as slaves, and you have the nerve to call me a spy because I lied about a suit of armor and slipped a harmless narcotic into your drink? Excuse me, but I think my motives justify the crime, so unless you're here to help, give me back Toothless and go home!"**

" **You dare to give me orders?"** Salistus cried indignantly, **"I am the Alepha—I could—I'll—"**

" **You'll what?"** The Dragon King snorted. He knew at once he had said the wrong thing. Salistus was a pathetic fighter, but Agaruba was like a dog straining at the leash.

" **Let me take care of it, my Alepha! Let me avenge the insults**!"

" **Give him permission** ," Menomem told her son. " **You commanded the lesser dragons to be still, now command Agaruba to finish this umanu**."

" **You'll never be a true leader if you just do what someone else tells you**!" the King said loudly. " **Don't be some puppet, Salistus! If you're going to be the Alepha, step up and be it**!" Salistus was caught off guard and abruptly became unsure of what to do. They could all see his head moving left to right and his mouth moving as if about to speak a command and yet unable to.

" **Toothless**!" the King said. His best friend was in the middle of the flock and had thus far been standing still as a statue, looking at him without recognition. " **Toothless, come on, Bud! It's me! It's Hiccup**!"

The Night Fury did not move. His pupils were slits and his eyes, instead of being their normal wholesome forest green, looked pale and sickly, like diseased peapods.

Menomem laughed nastily. " **He is not your thrall anymore, umanu! Salistus ordered him to forget you! He belongs to us, to my Vav, the leader of his species**!"

" **Oh, you think so**?" He looked quickly over the flock to gauge their loyalty. A handful, including Sclepus and Radamar, looked uneasy about the situation, though he was unsure where their uneasiness stemmed from.

" **Emaracluse is one of us and shall always remain so**!" Menomem declared.

" **Well we'll just see about that!"** He had no idea what exactly he was going to do, but he went with his instincts. His wild, stupid, and crazy instincts. " **Toothless, come on, remember the day we first met? You nearly gave me a heart attack when you tried to blow my ears off! Remember the first time you let me touch you? I still think that was the best day of my life. Come on, Bud, don't let this little tyrant keep you from the ones you love the most**!" He approached the flock slowly, his eyes never leaving his friend.

" **Salistus, why not have Emaracluse kill it**?" Menomem nastily suggested.

" **No**!" Radamar cried, " **He's just trying to help his species and his friend, there's no need to** —"

" **No**!" Agaruba yelled over her pleas, " **Let me kill it**!"

Salistus was still indecisive.

" **Go ahead and order it**!" the Dragon King commanded, " **Toothless would never hurt me**!"

" **Prove him wrong, my Vav**!" Menomem cried, " **Prove to him your power is stronger than anything in existence**!"

" **Oh? If that's true, why did the Notoraquin have to hide in the first place?** "

This logic made Salistus even less decisive. Ever since they had emerged from their caves he had been afraid of everything he saw. Everything was new and unfamiliar to him, and he wanted nothing more than to go home, but pride and prestige demanded he find the umanu and punish him. And now that he was being called on to make a firm decision and use his power, which did not deter this umanu in the slightest, he grew afraid. What effect this had on his abilities as the Alpha was hard to say, but it certainly robbed him of his ability to speak. In fact, he looked one step away from having a panic attack.

" **My Alepha, give the order**!" urged Menomem. She knew she could kill Hiccup herself, but she wanted her son to do this to demonstrate his authority to everyone.

" **Toothless** ," Hiccup said gently.

Agaruba lost patience and lunged for him. Hiccup had been expecting that and shoved strands of Dragon Nip into his nose. Agaruba sneezed inadvertently and set the strands on fire, but he fell to the ground in a daze. Hiccup swayed a little. He suddenly felt as light headed as Agaruba probably had, but he did not know why.

" **Stop it—stop—I—just stop it, alright**?" Salistus whimpered loudly. His words had virtually no effect on anyone.

Hiccup drew even closer. The Night Furies retreated from him nervously.

For Toothless, this time had been like dreaming during a heavy sleep. He had the faintest ideas of what was going on and knew there was a vaguely familiar human in front of him, but that was all he knew.

" **Come on, Bud, come back to me**!"

There was something familiar about that human…had they met before? He saw memories flit by. He saw him and that human being chased by a massive dragon, he saw him dragging the bloodied boy from a burning prison, he saw them flying over islands, over a ship of iron, crevasses of ice, and he saw them playing in a river, in a jungle, and on a wall that ran along steep foothills.

" **Come on, Bud, it's me, Hiccup! You wouldn't forget me, would you? You used to joke you couldn't forget about me even if you wanted too**!"

The other dragons were transfixed with curiosity by what was happening, even if they did not want it to happen. They could see the pupils of Emaracluse shifting between slits and circles.

Radamar suddenly could not stand the suspense any more. " **Salistus, just let him go free! What does it matter to you**?"

" **It matters because we were shamed**!" Menomem snapped, " **Shamed and disgraced by this umanu, and we will have justice**!"

" **Oh if we're going to talk about justice, you've got probably the longest list of crimes in history**!" Hiccup yelled, " **Every wrong a dragon has done in the past four hundred years that could have been prevented by proper leadership is the fault of your species hiding like spiders under a rock! You come to me crying that I upset you—well I can name a score of people without even thinking who have a lot more reason to be angry at you, because thanks to your negligence they've lost loved ones for no good reason**!"

This was said so angrily that the Night Furies were too intimidated to talk back.

" **Now where were we? Right. You guys were just about to free my brother and leave peacefully**."

" **No we weren't**!" a Night Fury in the back shouted indignantly.

" **Worth a try. Toothless, come on, look at me** —"

" **No**!" Menomem whispered fiercely, " **Salistus, give the order**!"

" **But I** —"

" **Give it**!"

" **Look at me, Bud. You know me, right? You'd never forget your best friend. And you won't hurt your best friend either.** "

" **Best friend**?" Menomem shouted scornfully, trying to recover the initiative, " **You left him to fend for himself**!"

" **He had no choice because you wouldn't let them leave together**!" Radamar cried.

" **Silence! Salistus, give the order now or I will**!"

" **I** —"

" **Toothless, guess what**?" Hiccup said, ignoring the infighting, " **Astrid's pregnant! You're going to be an uncle! HA! Remember the first time I told you about her? All those doubts I had that she would ever think good things of me? I was more likely to walk on the moon then to have children with her in those days! That's one thing we've never done, you know! Come on, Bud, let's go fly to the moon and back! They say it's impossible, but that's what they said about Vikings being friends with dragons, and look how well that's turned out for us! People said Astrid and me together would never happen and look how well that's gone! You're my best friend, Toothless. If I didn't have you, I don't know what I'd do with myself.** "

Toothless saw more memories, and the image of the human before him came into sharper focus. The Alpha's power, which pressed against his memory like a sponge soaked with dragon nip, was loosening. He could feel his will returning. He shook his head and sneezed, and finally realized he was looking at his best friend again.

" **Hiccup**!"

" **That's it, Bud! That's it! I'm here, I'm not leaving you again, keep fighting**!"

Menomem turned to her son. " **Order him to stop this! He's under your control, keep him that way**!"

" **That's abusing the power of the Alepha**!" Radamar shouted, " **You said he's no longer Hiccup's thrall, but you're just making him your own thrall—Hiccup, Agaruba, he's—!** "

" **Silence! Salistus, give the order! Do something for once in your life**!"

Salistus finally got the hint. " **Emaracluse, get away from him**."

The Night Fury did not budge. " **I'm not going anywhere**."

" **What? But—but I ordered—I order you, get away from him! Get away from him, Emaracluse, I am the Alepha**!"

" **And I'm** _ **not**_ **Emaracluse**!" Toothless roared.

" **My Vav, reword your command and** —"

" **LOOK OUT**!"

Agaruba leapt up with a roar and lunged at Hiccup. Hiccup threw himself to the ground but before the Night Fury could touch him another one collided with him. Hiccup raised his head but to his surprise it was not Toothless who was defending him.

" **Take Toothless and run**!" Radamar screamed, trying to pin Agaruba down.

" **Get off me, you fool**!" Agaruba bellowed as he slashed her across the face and bit at her stomach.

" **Radamar, stop this**!" her mother shrieked, " **Salistus, order them to stop**!"

" **Rada—Plorip, I—Aga—st—stop it**!" Salistus stuttered. His order had no effect at all. Agaruba was as enraged and Radamar as defiant as their leader was terrified.

Hiccup reached into a pocket, only to remember Agaruba had burned his supply of Dragon Nip. Toothless leapt in front of him protectively. " **Get out of here**!"

" **Not without you! Not this time**!"

Radamar was no match for Agaruba's strength or anger, and he quickly threw her off and shoved her to the ground. She slashed at his legs but this only made him angrier. Roaring like a tiger he grabbed her head in his claws and twisted it. There was a sickening crack and she collapsed on the ground.

Every Night Fury gasped. Salistus was frozen with fear. Hiccup dropped his sword and swayed where he stood. The other dragons were appalled but uncertain of what to do. Menomem screamed and rushed towards Radamar's limp body, only to be shoved aside by Toothless. He looked over Radamar desperately.

" **Broken neck** ," he muttered, " **Still alive, barely, oh this is bad. And Night Fury saliva can't heal broken bones!** "

Agaruba, looking more like a rabid wolf than a dragon, glared at the Night Furies with blood dripping from his mouth.

" **You broke the First Law**!" Sclepus bellowed.

" **Not quite, but that's only by sheer chance** ," Hiccup said with disgust, " **And I daresay he intended to break it**!"

" **Such is what happens to those who interfere** ," Agaruba rasped, " **Now I'm going to do what should have been done the moment these two** —"

Toothless heard this and lost his temper. He slammed into the dragon with all the force he could muster. " **You're going to pay for that**!"

Agaruba kicked him and darted around, aiming for Hiccup. He fired a shot of plasma, but Hiccup dodged it easily. Toothless responded with a furious swipe at his foe's tail. Snarling Agaruba spread his wings and flew over to Salistus, who was rooted to the spot with fear. " **Your only hope now is to kill them or they will overthrow you and rule over us until we are destroyed! Now give the order or I'll make you**!"

" **Kill them so** _ **you**_ **can rule over us, Agaruba**?" Sclepus shouted, " **I don't think so**!" He raised himself onto his hind legs and spat plasma.

But only a few Night Furies seemed to be opposing Agaruba. The others roared angrily:

" **I stand with the Alepha**!"

" **She got what she deserved**!"

" **They must pay**!"

" **Look**!" someone shrieked.

They heard a squawk and saw Stormfly landing, accompanied by several other dragons, including Hookfang and Barf n' Belch. None of them had brought any riders.

Hiccup looked at his friend. " **You summoned them**?"

" **I'm still a Beta, aren't I**?"

" **Toothless**!" Stormfly exclaimed, " **What's going on? What is—what is all this**?"

Unfortunately, the appearance of these dragons sent the Night Furies over the edge of paranoia.

" **He summoned these beasts to kill us**!"

" **He means to rule over us**!"

" **No we don't**!" Hiccup yelled, suddenly frantic. His voice carried but went unheeded. The other Night Furies were whispering anxiously over taking sides. " **We aren't here to harm anyone! They just came to protect me and Toothless; they aren't dangerous so long as you don't** —"

" **KILL THEM**!" Someone roared.

For Stormfly and Hookfang, it was unreal to see over a dozen Night Furies charge towards them clumsily. The Notoraquin fired blast after blast of plasma. Purple explosions sent rocks and grass and ice flying in every direction. They were met with equally fierce explosions of Zippleback gas and bursts of fire.

Stormfly leapt into the air and flung her tail spines. Hookfang lit up and bellowed with rage, and the sight was so scary that Salistus nearly fainted. Persephone slipped under one Night Fury and bit her in the leg. The other dragons on their side, mainly a few Nadders and the Whispering Death, were following Stormfly's example, spitting fire and throwing spines at any perceived enemy. Sclepus had to get behind them so they would not mistake him for one.

" **The very first time I see a Night Fury besides Toothless and I'm fighting it**!" Hookfang commented loudly, " **This is just crazy**!"

Hiccup was trying to stop the fight, and to do that he was trying to hit the Night Furies in their sensitive spot under the chin, which could put them in a peaceful sleep for some time. But he could not get close enough to any and Agaruba was still trying to find a way to kill him, so Toothless spent most of his time trying to defend his brother. Agaruba was chasing after them like a wolf after a lamb.

" **Toothless—get us in the air! We're the better fliers**!" Hiccup shouted as he threw himself onto his dragons back. " **Get us in the—oh hey, look, we're in the air! That was quick**!"

" **Well of course it was**!" Toothless said, though he did not feel very humorous. " **What now? If Salistus regains control** —"

" **I doubt he will, but we've still gotta stop this now without more of us getting hurt**!" He could only think of one way to do that. Someone else would have to become the Alpha. " **Challenge Salistus, Bud**!"

" **Challenge—are you serious?** "

" **It's our best hope! Think of what good you could do if you were the Alpha**!"

A blast of plasma shot past them, almost hitting Hiccup in the back. Toothless spun around in the air and saw Agaruba flying towards them, several Night Furies with him. Agaruba in particular looked ready to kill them. Toothless decided that Hiccup was right. " **If it keeps you safe…all right, hang on**!" Toothless sped towards their pursuers and spat rings of plasma in quick succession. The flock scattered, except for Agaruba, who took three blasts to the head and went spiraling towards the earth.

" **Hah! That attack formation was pathetic**!" Hookfang yelled gleefully, " **They're no match for us**!" He lit himself up again, only to realize that he had melted through the snow and set the now exposed grass on fire. Despite the dampness of the ground, flames leapt up around him like a giant bonfire. It did not hurt him any, but it certainly made for a spectacular addition to a fight already filled with fire and explosions.

It also meant that for the first time the humans searching around the ruins of Grimmige Festung knew where to look for them. The Bewilderbeast had not obeyed the call from Toothless because he had not felt it, as he was not part of that nest. So he had resumed destroying the Fortress once his freewill had returned. But when he saw the fires made by Hookfang and the explosions, he started out at once. But first he stopped and lowered himself so the nearby humans could climb onto his massive back.

"Now I've seen everything!" Camicazi cried happily. "Isn't this amazing, Thuggory?"

"Yes it is!" Thuggory shouted back, "Just make sure you hold onto something!"

"Oh trust me, they haven't seen everything yet!" Astrid snorted to her mother.

Queen Mala had never felt so powerful before. She was sitting on top of the largest and most awe-inspiring dragon she had ever seen. She felt she could whip any army in the world right now. No wonder her people had always worshiped dragons. No wonder Berk had wanted to live with them.

It would have taken a human over a thousand paces to reach the fight. The Bewilderbeast covered half the distance in ten.

Toothless pulled out of a dive and landed right in front of Salistus. " **I challenge**!" he yelled, waving his tail imposingly and flexing the real and false fins.

" **I am the Alepha! I have complete control over every** —"

" **He's gotten some of his ego back, evidently** ," Hiccup said dryly, " **If you're so powerful, prove it by ending this right now**!"

Salistus looked like he only wanted to run and hide.

" **Look around you! You Night Furies don't have a chance**!" It was true. Hiccup's side was far more experienced in fighting and flying and the differences were becoming appallingly clear. The Night Furies were unfamiliar with the dragons they were opposing, and even the most typical tricks were enough to make them nervous. Only Agaruba was putting up any real fight now. " **Give your responsibilities to Toothless. It's the only way. Nobody else has to die tonight. And I'll make you a real suit of armor if you want—for real this time**!" he added brightly.

Salistus looked about helplessly. If it came to a fight with Toothless he could not hope to win and he knew it. " **You'll let us live**?"

" **Yes**!" Toothless said, " **I'll swear on anything you like I will**!"

" **Then** —"

Agaruba swooped down and grabbed Hiccup from off of Toothless's back. Toothless screamed with fury. Hiccup hit his gauntlet instinctively but the fire did no harm to his attacker. When Agaruba's teeth sank into his arm, Toothless lost it completely. The scales on his back and head began turning purple, and he reared up onto his hind legs and roared like a savage monster.

" **YOU GET AWAY FROM HIM, YOU COWARD**!"

" **HAH**!" Agaruba laughed scornfully, spitting out blood. " **I'd rather kill myself than have** _ **you**_ **as my Alepha**!"

Salistus suddenly had an idea. " **You two fight, and I'll name the winner the next Alepha, if they desire it**!"

Toothless charged like an enraged rhinoceros, slamming into Agaruba and spitting plasma right into the Night Fury's eyes. The two dragons fell over and rolled downhill, Toothless kicking his opponent with all his might. Agaruba was surprised by the ferocity but quickly extended his claws to their greatest length so he could sink them all the deeper into Toothless's back. Toothless seized the dragon by the neck with his teeth. It was almost a fatal bite but Agaruba had twisted his neck just in time, so Toothless missed the jugular.

Still, having a Night Fury biting into your neck was no pleasant experience, even for another Night Fury, and Agaruba, screaming with pain, tried to throw him off. Toothless did release his grip, but that was so he could try a second bite. This time Agaruba was ready and he slashed at his opponent's nose. Only when Toothless clobbered him in the eye with his tailfin did Agaruba figure out the bite attempt was only a distraction.

" **Augh! Since when do tailfins have metal in them**?"

" **Did you never notice I have a false one**?" Toothless asked smugly.

" **Made by that umanu, no doubt. Have you no shame at all**?"

" **Pride wouldn't do me much good if I couldn't fly**!" Toothless swung his tail and struck Agaruba in the side. Agaruba tried to bite it but missed.

" **I'll make sure you never fly again**!"

Toothless spit plasma into one of Agaruba's wounds, and it stung like salt on a canker sore.

Hiccup had managed to pick himself up and stop the bleeding. He knew better than to distract Toothless with such a fight, but watching this battle felt like a blow to the stomach. He had spent so much time trying to urge humans and dragons to coexist, trying to persuade humans that dragons were not as monstrous as believed, yet here was his best friend battling to the death a member of his own species, and nearby other dragons were fighting with each other, and for what? He could see Radamar attempting to breathe; she had been severely injured and all for nothing. She would probably die before they could help her, if they could help her at all.

Whatever excuses they could make, the fact remained it was still happening, and after all else that had happened it felt like the final blow to his vision. He had failed his island, his father, his friends, and once again he had failed to bring peace. All of these together meant he had failed himself. These thoughts struck him like a massive hammer. And as if he could not feel any worse, he became conscious that he felt sick. In the excitement so far he had not paid any heed to his physical state, but now he could not ignore how much his hand, stomach, and chest hurt, and he felt light headed and drowsy.

Toothless had increased his attacks and for the first time that night Agaruba began to seriously fear for his life. He took to the air, hoping to have the advantage, but Toothless fired a powerful bolt of plasma right into his wing joint. Agaruba felt his wing break and he plummeted back to earth. Toothless was on him in an instant and savagely raked his claws down his back.

" **Now see what happens when someone tries to kill my human! You should've seen what I did to Drago Bludvist! I pulled him apart and crushed his head in my jaws! Shall I do the same thing to you**?" He pinned Agaruba to the ground and opened his mouth.

"No!" Hiccup shouted, " **Toothless, that's enough! That's enough**!"

Toothless paused. " **Give up the contest**."

" **I will not**!" Agaruba snapped, but the grip on him was like iron.

" **Typical. Salistus**!" Toothless called, " **Am I the winner or am I not**?"

Salistus hesitated.

" **You never did say how he has to win** ," the Dragon King pointed out quickly. " **This doesn't have to be to the death**!"

Salistus still hesitated.

The ground shook. It had in fact been shaking before, but it had felt too distant to really notice. But now it trembled as if an earthquake was in motion. The Bewilderbeast had arrived. Salistus had never seen such a huge dragon before and as the great white dragon lowered his mighty head to get a better look at them, he screamed in terror and bolted. " **All right, you win! I name him the next Alepha! There, it's over, just don't kill me, please**!"

Toothless slowly climbed off Agaruba, making sure to keep him in sight. " **All right—wait, why don't I feel any different**?"

Before anyone could answer Agaruba extended his claws and slashed them through his own throat. " **I said I would**!" he chortled, " **You'll never command me**!"

" **Stop**!" but it was too late. Agaruba fell onto the ground, a great amount of blood seeping from his neck. His body shuddered and went limp.

Hiccup put a hand over his face. " **It didn't have to be this way**!"

" **So why couldn't I** —" Toothless looked up at the Bewilderbeast, who was stooping to let the humans off his back. " **Say, do you feel any different**?"

" **As a matter of fact I do**." The huge dragon sounded perplexed.

Toothless's eyes widened. " **That explains it. Salistus declared** _ **you**_ **the Alpha, not me**!"

The Bewilderbeast looked up sharply. " **I am**?" He looked around and cried out " **Stop the fighting, all of you**!" Every dragon froze in place, even if they were moments away from biting someone in the head. " **I suppose this means I am**." He lowered his head again, as if feeling the weight of his new and unexpected responsibilities.

Hiccup tried to climb onto his dragon's back, but almost at once he lost the physical strength to do it and had to give up. He felt ready to fall over, and he was starting to tremble.

Toothless eyed him worriedly. " **Are you alright? What's wrong**?"

"I'm fine, bud, just a…just a little tired, that's all," Hiccup said with a forced smile. "Been through a lot today, you know," That was true, but now he seriously felt sick. He was sweating, and it was not from the fight. His head felt dizzier than ever and his heart was pounding.

He turned and saw his friends approaching. Tuffnut arrived first, looking more upset than he had ever seen him.

"Hiccup! Ruffnut's dead!"

Hiccup felt ready to faint.

"Dead! Did you hear me? She's _dead_ , Useless, and it's all your fault!" Tuffnut shouted in between sobs, "You and your stupid plans, that's what got her killed! You and all your useless schemes, you stupid Fishbone! She's dead and it's all because of you!" He shoved Hiccup roughly. Hiccup swayed and then he doubled over and collapsed.

"Toothless…"

Tuffnut broke away crying. "Stupid useless fishbone. One little push and he falls right over, that's just pathetic. Oh Hiccup, why? Why did this have to happen? Why Ruffnut?"

Toothless went to pick up Hiccup. As he got closer something felt wrong. Hiccup was not breathing, and though his eyes were opened he was not moving them or blinking.

" **Hiccup**?" he nudged his human, but there was no response.

Tuffnut stopped his crying and looked at Hiccup uneasily. "I didn't think I pushed him that hard," he muttered. He put his fingers against Hiccup's neck, feeling for a pulse. He stiffened. "Oh Gods…"

Astrid by this point had reached them, having been delayed by trying to tend to Ruffnut and then inspecting Stormfly for injuries. "What's happening? What's going on? Who's been hurt?"

And then she saw Hiccup's body and Tuffnut's reaction and screamed. She shoved Tuffnut away and grabbed Hiccup as tightly as she possibly could. "NO! No, no, no, NO! You can't do this to us, you can't be dead, you can't be! Come on, Hiccup, wake up, this isn't funny!"

Toothless felt as if time had stopped. " **No** …" This could not be real, it simply was not possible. This had to be a horrible nightmare. He could not believe that his best friend, his brother, his human was dead. It was not possible. Hiccup had survived so many things before, he had always escaped, he could not have died now! It just made no sense! He nudged Hiccup frantically, but Hiccup did not move.

"I told you I didn't want our child growing up fatherless!" Astrid shrieked at Hiccup's unresponsive face. "You were supposed to take care of yourself! We were going to get through this and raise a family and rebuild Berk together! Come on, my love, get up!" She hit his shoulder, "Get up, I mean it!"

"Hiccup, I didn't mean what I said!" Tuffnut shouted, shaking the limb body, "I didn't mean to call you those things, I was just angry, I—oh gods, the last words he ever heard were those stupid childhood insults!" He fell away from them almost deliriously and threw up. The Chief was dead, Ruffnut was dead, his cousin had betrayed him, Loki knew how many others were dead, Snotlout had cholera, if he was still alive, and now this! Dear Odin, how many more lives were going to be lost in this nightmare?

Toothless nudged Hiccup more, frantically hoping there were signs of life; perhaps he was just really in a deep sleep or unconscious. His gaze fell upon Hiccup's hand. On it was a partially dried cut, several inches long. The skin around it was a sickly shade of purple. Toothless carefully sniffed it and detected traces of several dragon venoms.

That was the last thing he was conscious of doing before he broke down as Astrid had. There was no escaping the terrible truth, however much they wanted to. Hiccup was dead.


	40. Chapter 40

**I Own Nothing**

 **All Rights Reserved**

 **Chapter 40**

 **The Final Matters of Business**

When the wall of Grimmige Festung had collapsed, Viggo had fallen with it. But by some miracle he had not died, nor had he been gravely injured. Still, he had landed in a dazed and exhausted state, so if an enemy had found him he would have been completely at their mercy. But an enemy did not find him first. Dagur found him instead.

"Well hello there, Viggo!" he said cheerfully as he dragged the man from the rubble. "I've been looking for you!"

Viggo struggled to his feet. His pants were crusted with drying blood. "Where is everybody?"

"Hiccup got snatched by a dragon and the others have gone after him. Now's the time to get out of here!"

Viggo agreed the time was ideal to move, but he kept his distance from Dagur as they hurried away. Dagur noticed and asked him why did he not trust him?

"I trust no one," Viggo said coldly, "especially those who betray me." If he had a weapon right then he would have killed Dagur.

"I didn't betray you, Viggo!" Dagur laughed, "I promise you, I had no idea about those gypsies being fakes!"

"Oh really?"

"Really! Do you think Heather or Hiccup would ever have trusted me with their secrets? _Me_ , Heather's deranged and estranged brother?"

"And those gypsies?"

"Either Hiccup made it up or there is a real troop and Hiccup slipped imposters into their ranks. Either way, I had nothing to do with it. More to the point, if I was secretly in league with Hiccup, don't you think I would've just killed you when I saw you, instead of helping you get away?"

Viggo still kept Dagur at a distance, but he relaxed a little inside. "So where were you this whole time? As I recall you ran off when the fight began."

"So did you, but that's beside the point! I was afraid there'd be a dragon attack coming, so I ran up to the battlements to take a look. Next thing I know, when I want to go downstairs the whole wall came down with me!"

"What do you know about Hiccup's plans? What else has he done?"

"I have no idea."

Viggo suddenly laughed. It was an incredibly chilling sound. "Well, it does not matter much! I wounded him with a poisoned blade! It'll take some time to take effect, but the end result will be the same."

"Poison? Well! But what if they cure him? Who knows what those dragons are capable of healing?"

Viggo shook his head. "There is no cure. I assure _you_ , Dagur, Hiccup will never see the morning."

Dagur smiled. "The Doom flower is blooming! Doom is in Bloom!"

"Why on earth do you keep saying that?"

"I think it sounds neat. Doesn't it make me sound like an awe inspiring prophet? But getting back to the subject, did Hiccup get what he came for? Will he win in spite of his death?"

Viggo laughed again, "Oh no. He thinks he's won, but he hasn't. Those ledgers he took from me were fakes! Hah! He thinks he knows where to find the rest of his Tribe, but instead they'll all be heading to the wrong places! It'll be months before they realize their mistake! Berk will never be saved now. He's got the Dragon Eye, yes, but I'll get it back soon enough."

"So where are the real ledgers?" Dagur asked, "What did you do with them?"

Viggo did not answer.

They hurried onwards until they at last came to the outskirts of a small hamlet. Viggo felt it was too risky to enter the place, as it was likely any pursuers would search for them there, but they stopped behind a fence to rest a little. Viggo badly needed it.

"So what now?" Dagur asked.

"I still have plenty of wealth, and the Pope is on my side. With his support the Kings of Europe will agree to my business offers. And this time Hiccup will not be around to stop me."

"You do realize Astrid will be coming after you now with everything she's got, right?"

"She will be upset and angry, and she has nobody to rely on. She will be easily crushed."

"I don't know, Viggo," Dagur said thoughtfully, "Hiccup had nothing for a while and he did pretty well…until you killed him, of course!" he laughed shrilly. "Poor Hiccup is dead! My little brother's died! He finally did something I wanted! It's almost pitiful."

"Yes it is," Viggo agreed. He smiled. "He lost the game, Dagur. Hard luck, but that's how it goes. I almost feel sorry for him. The poor boy staked everything and lost it all! And if he'd only accepted my friendship when it was offered, he'd have gained the world! But what good is the world to a dead man?" he chuckled.

"Wow! Is the world really yours to give?" Dagur asked eagerly, "I thought Drago was the one who wanted the whole world. Can I have a bit too? A few private islands and a bunch of slaves with rose thorn nose rings sound nice. Say, are you hungry? I might have some biscuits in my pack here…" as he rummaged he said, "If you don't mind my asking, what have _you_ gained from my brother's defeat?"

"Time," Viggo replied smugly, "time to rebuild what I lost and more, without anyone standing in my way!"

"Ah yes, Time. The one thing in all existence that nobody can tame, control, bribe, recover, or evade." Dagur sniggered.

"I'm impressed, Dagur. That was rather insightful."

"We all have our bad days. So, you've gained time. After all your schemes and executions and dealings, after all the lives, fortunes, energies, and efforts spent, is that all? I would've hoped for something a bit more expensive, personally, like a nice set of silver knives to go with my spoon collection."

"Well it's more than Hiccup's gained." Viggo said defensively. "For all his cleverness, what did Hiccup gain from his life? As far as I can see: nothing worth bothering about."

"True! He had a best friend, a wife, a family at long last, and a home. Who needs them?" Dagur laughed.

Viggo wondered if Dagur was agreeing with him or slyly insulting him. For it was a fact that Viggo had none of those things, not even a home anymore. For a brief moment he felt strangely unhappy. He was not feeling remorse, but he felt inadequate compared to Hiccup. He got the sense some people might say that Hiccup had been the more successful of the two in life. No doubt his remaining family was weeping over his corpse right now, but Viggo could not help but wonder who would cry over his own?

The feeling quickly passed. He shook his head forcefully. He did not care about such pitiful prizes. He was going to finish what he started, unlike the great and powerful _Dragon King_! _He_ had triumphed, not Hiccup! Hiccup was dead, by his hand!

Thinking of the dead prompted him to muse briefly about Draccus and some of the others he had had killed. He felt a surge of pride. He had won and they had all lost, as it had always been. In his games he had always come out ahead of his opponents.

He shook himself from his thoughts and turned impatiently to Dagur. "Well? Are you going to give me something to eat or not?"

"All right, keep your pants on," Dagur muttered, "Here we are. Here's a nice big old biscuit for you."

He offered it to Viggo but Viggo shook his head. "You take a bite first."

"Why?"

"To check for poison, naturally,"

Dagur was hurt and offended. "Viggo! Don't you trust me?"

"I mean no offense, my dear Dagur, but I always have someone taste my food for me. Even if Ryker offered me something I would have someone taste it first. I have lived my whole life being careful, and now that I have succeeded I must take even more care of myself. I'm too important to die now."

Dagur shrugged. "Suit yourself. More food for me anyhow!" he tore off some of the biscuit and popped it in his mouth. They waited for a few minutes but nothing happened, so Viggo accepted the food offering.

"It's a bit moldy, but it will do for the moment. Now, how much money do you have? If it isn't enough to buy us a boat we shall have to steal one. Can you sail a vessel to Barren Island?"

"Where's that?"

"Not too far from here. If I gave you a location, could you get us there?"

Dagur puffed his chest out. "I'm a first class sailor! I could sail us around the moon and throw every member of the crew overboard within two days!"

"Good," Viggo muttered dryly. He highly doubted Dagur was that great with boats, but a Viking could be expected to have at least some experience at sea. "Now, once we get to Barren Island, we will have to separate for a while. I will…" he stopped, for he had begun to feel sick in his stomach. He felt like he was going to throw up. His eyes widened slightly, sweat appeared on his forehead, and his throat and lips went dry. He looked up at Dagur and suddenly understood.

"You—"

"It was Hiccup's idea originally." Dagur said casually, as if nothing out of the ordinary was happening, "Poison part of the food and have the taste-tester eat the safe part. He told it to Heather, who told it to me. Oh sure, I could've just stabbed you when I found you, but this way's more fun. Poison is very effective, isn't it? Guess you didn't gain much Time, did you?"

Viggo began gasping for breath.

"I did warn you Viggo: Doom is in Bloom!" Dagur went on with a sinister smile. "You killed my little brother and threatened to kill my little sister."

Viggo tried to reach for him. Perhaps he was only trying to see he had an antidote on him, but whatever the reason, his arm lost its strength quickly and he slumped onto the ground, still frantically and futilely gasping for air.

"You lost, Viggo. Bad luck. It's almost pitiful, really. You should've known better than to trust me. They don't call me Dagur the Deranged for nothing, you know!" He laughed hysterically as Viggo gave one final shudder and went limp.

The Vikings and Dragons had regrouped amidst the ruins of Grimmige Festung. For a group of allies that had just largely succeeded in their plans, and for prisoners who had just been released, they all looked as though the opposite had happened, as though they had failed and were all captives without any hope of escape. The Defenders of the Wing were busy tending to those wounded, including Radamar. The Bog Burglars were mostly looting the ruins of the fortress and their prisoners, something nobody else cared about. Indeed, the Berkians present were milling around aimlessly, torn between wanting to go home and wanting to do nothing.

Astrid was still clinging to Hiccup's body, while her mother was clinging to her. Toothless was there too, now and then nudging Hiccup's head, as if that would make him wake up. Tuffnut was cradling his sister's body in his arms, an act more intimate than anything they had done in real life. Camicazi was crying on Thuggory's shoulder. The unwounded dragons, excluding the Night Furies, who were huddled together in a group, were mostly standing in revered silence.

It took Dagur some time to walk back to the ruins. He dragged Viggo's body along behind him. In complete contrast to everyone else, Dagur felt thrilled to be among the sights and smells of battle that had taken place, and he strolled forward proud as a peacock.

Queen Mala was the first person to meet him and she met him with a cold look. She gestured to Viggo's body. "Your work?"

"That it is!" Dagur replied cheerfully.

Mala breathed a small sigh of relief. "Then the threat is truly finished. It was not for nothing that my friends have died."

"Really?" Dagur grinned. He was debating if it would be more fun to not reveal the truth about the ledgers for a while or not at all. He might have been on Hiccup's side against Viggo, but that did not mean he was wholly on anybody's side but his own.

On the other hand, if Heather found out that he had deliberately withheld such information…

"He didn't quite get everything,"

Mala looked at him sharply. "What was that?"

"Those ledgers Hiccup grabbed? They're fakes. Old Viggo told me so before he died."

Astrid stirred for the first time. "What did you just say?"

"Hiccup grabbed a bunch of false information. So when you think about it, he really didn't get what he came for, and he died for nothing." Dagur replied.

Toothless was stirring too, and his pupils were slits. " **Of all the insensitive things to say—** "

"That is not true!" Mala retorted, unaware of the Night Fury's words, "He did recover this!" She held up the Dragon Eye. "And there is no way Viggo could make a fake in the short amount of time he had it!"

Astrid grabbed the Eye from Mala, threw it onto the ground, and tried to smash it under her foot. "This cursed thing should've been destroyed the moment it was found! All this time it's caused nothing but trouble! What on earth were you _thinking_ , letting Heather give it to Viggo?"

Despite her efforts the Dragon Eye did not break. Mala coolly retrieved it. "There was no chance Viggo would have believed Heather was on his side without something this desirable. We gave her the lenses we believed would give him the least amount of information."

"Well that didn't work so well, did it?" Astrid snapped. "And now that Hiccup and that monster are both gone, who's going to fight over it next?"

Mala nodded slightly at the implication. She could not help but feel a little intimidated by the angry and grief stricken woman. "It will be put beyond all possible reach, I promise you."

"Good!" she turned away trying to think. But she could think of nothing but the fact that Hiccup and Ruffnut were both dead. "Where would Viggo have put the real information?" Such was her distressed state that she hardly knew where to start. "I don't know. Oh Gods, Hiccup, I need your brain, you're better at this kind of thing than I am. Oh Gods, Hiccup!" she broke down again.

Bertha stepped over. "Stay with him," she said gently, "For now, I'll play the role of Chief for both of us."

Astrid hardly needed the prompting. As it turned out, however, Viggo had not been quite as clever as he had thought. He had evidently underestimated the capabilities of experienced Tracker Dragons, or else he had been confident that by the time the validity of the ledgers was discovered, all traces of his actions would have been wiped away. After learning from Dagur and Eret that Viggo had never left the area since Berk had fallen, Bertha and Mala together deduced that he must have either buried the true ledgers somewhere or hidden them in another room in his now ruined Fortress. Burial seemed more plausible, so Bertha put Stormfly and any additional Tracker Dragons present to work, sniffing out where Viggo had been. The faint scent led to a spot about twelve hundred meters from the Fortress, and a chest was dug up.

While this was going on, the new Alpha inspected the Night Furies. They had never seen such a huge dragon before and cowered before him, mistaking every move he made for signs of aggression. Actually, he was just taking a closer look at them.

" **So** ," he said at length, " **these are what the legendary Night Furies are truly like**."

" **We're the Notoraquin** ," one of them said indignantly. The others quickly hushed her up.

" **As you please** ," the Bewilderbeast replied, " **The fact remains I have been named Alpha by my predecessor** —"

" **You have no right**!" Menomem shouted at once, " **The Title belongs to the Notoraquin! No other species of dragon is worthy enough to possess it**!" She glared at Salistus, who squirmed uncomfortably and looked away. " **The Title belongs to our species. I demand you give it back at once**!"

" **Be silent** ," the Bewilderbeast ordered. She stopped talking at once, but her expression held as much anger as ever. " **From what I have heard, your own daughter is lying near death, yet you are more concerned with the loss of power that you have never deserved! But I am not going to be another Red Death nor am I going to judge every crime ever committed. The future is what matters now. You dragons have two choices now: to go back to your old home and continue hiding forever, or to come out into the world and finally take your place alongside your fellow dragons. Let those who desire the latter come over to me. As for those who do not, you may do as you please. Go back and spend the rest of your lives in caves, if you think that is the best thing for you**." He looked around expectantly. " **Well**?"

" **What do you mean by 'taking our places alongside fellow dragons'**?" One asked.

" **I mean that you share the lives we live, for good or ill. Throughout the wide world, some find nests, some choose to live alone, and more recently some have been choosing to live with humans**." He did not say that he was wondering how much longer living with humans would be going on for. He did not know if it was going to be just a passing dream or a permanent fixture. " **It may not be easy to adjust to, but it can be done if the desire exists**." He looked around expectantly again. " **Well**?"

Sclepus came forward. " **I've had enough of caves and hiding**."

One named Lorkorpol exclaimed, " **That's what your Vav said, and look at what happened to him! He died**!"

" **We all die, one way or another** ," Sclepus retorted quietly.

" **Well…look at what happened to Radamar**!"

" **She was attacked by one of our own. I** _ **am**_ **looking at her. Are the rest of you**?" He looked at Menomem scornfully. She looked at Salistus angrily, probably convinced that if he had shown proper leadership none of this would have happened. And because she did so, Salistus squiggled forward and joined Sclepus. It was obvious he was only doing so because he was hoping to escape the rage of his angry mother.

A few more Night Furies shuffled their way forward. Seeing Radamar being tended to by humans, after being attacked by a fellow Notoraquin, was causing them now to wonder if there was perhaps something to this world beyond their own cave. As for the rest, they made up their minds that their cave was the best place to be. With no reason to remain, they took off and flew away. Menomem stayed behind. The Bewilderbeast eyed her hopefully. " **Are you staying to look after your offspring? You may speak** ,"

But she glared at him. " **I only stayed for that. My Vav and Plorip have failed me and betrayed their own species. I deny them both**!"

" **Perhaps they will be better off this way** ," the Bewilderbeast said coolly, " **and as for you—** "

" **Her name's Menomem** ," Sclepus told him.

" **Menomem, be silent**."

Her eyes widened.

" **Find me in five years hence and we shall see if you deserve an acquittal** ," the Bewilderbeast went on. She spat at him and flew away.

Salistus looked nervously at Sclepus. " **What do we do now**?"

" **I intend to go to Berk with Toothless** ," he said, " **And I imagine you should too, since that is where Radamar will likely be going** ,"

" **But I don't want to stay with Emara** —!"

" **Toothless. His name is Toothless, not Emaracluse** ,"

" **The name the umanu gave him**?" Salistus spat.

" **If I were you, I would be a little less contemptuous about the umanu, since we're going to be living with them. And yes, the name the umanu gave him. And why not? It's the name he accepted as his own**."

Snotlout weakly staggered out of the hospital. Ingrid helped steady him. "Whew! Am I glad to be out of there! It feels good to smell fresh air again!"

"As fresh as it ever is around here," Ingrid said in disgust, "Here, let's get closer to the harbor. I've always loved the smell of salt water."

Snotlout had never before seen a lovelier day. The morning breeze felt fresh and sweet and the sun was shining slightly through a light fog over the icy ocean. For someone who had been near death in a filthy hospital for days, it was truly a wonderful sight. He still felt weak everywhere and his stomach sometimes felt like an inflated bag about to burst, but he was fairly certain he was on the mend. The doctors, with reservations, had confirmed this, though they had hinted there was a chance of a relapse.

"I wonder who won," he said thoughtfully, "any news?"

Ingrid shook her head.

"Well, I'm sure Hiccup's busy getting things sorted out. He'll send for us once he's ready! And you know, nearly dying made me reflect on some things. I should never have gotten jealous of Hiccup. I should have known he and the other riders need me, should've known they can't manage without me, I shouldn't have felt underused and mistrusted. Well, we'll do better now, won't we? After all, now that my cousin's the Chief, I'm gonna be his right hand man! They're gonna need all my skills if we want to rebuild Berk properly! Why, I almost hope Viggo escaped! I want the fight to last a bit longer so I don't miss the next one! And when I get my hands on that Viggo and his—hey, look!"

Ingrid looked around. "What?"

"I thought I saw Hookfang. I did! He's flying to the outskirts of town—I'll be right back!" Snotlout, with more strength than Ingrid could have given him credit for, broke away from her and ran towards the woods that marked the edge of the port's boundaries. She ran after him, but running in a loose dress was not feasible, and Snotlout was practically sprinting. It was as though during his illness he had been storing up energy and now he was unleashing it.

Hookfang was indeed flying into the woods. He dared not land in the town itself, for it was still a place for Dragon Hunters and the inhabitants were unlikely to let him land peacefully. In fact, he had already heard people shouting as he flew overhead.

" **Well, I'm just here for the Snotty One. We'll be long gone before anything dangerous happens. I hope. I have no desire to end up in a cell again** ," he shuddered as he landed in a small clearing. Within minutes Snotlout burst forth from the trees and threw him arms around him.

"Hookfang! I knew you'd never abandon your master! Oh, it's great to see you! Where have you been? I nearly died! I passed through the valley of death! Well, no matter now. Come on, let's get going and fix whatever problem Hiccup's stuck on."

Hookfang had been enjoying the attention but now he clenched the dirt beneath his claws. " **He must not know yet** ,"

Ingrid reached them, half out of breath. She took one look at the two, guessed what was going on, and said "Can I come with you?"

Snotlout smiled and winked. "Come along, fair maiden! Permit me to—"

Ingrid climbed onto the Nightmare without his help.

"—Oh. Well, just hold tight. You can hold onto my shoulders and watch as a true Dragon Rider—"

Hookfang tuned him out, as he often did. " **Passed through the valley of death, did he? Well, it doesn't seem to have changed him much**." He sighed heavily. " **I'm glad Toothless wasn't here to see our reunion**."

The village of Berk was unnaturally quiet. Unnaturally quiet and still as death. Snow covered homes and structures were broken up and stood as silent and ominous as tombstones. Fishlegs had known what to expect, for he had been back a few times, but that did not make it any easier to see his lifeless village again. Heather was equally subdued and distressed by what she saw. She vaguely recalled the first time she had ever seen Berk. Then it had been full of life and energy and bustling with activity and excitement. It was like comparing a living person to a corpse.

They had headed for Berk after dealing with Viggo's vault, and from there they had awaited developments while trying to start the vast amount of repairs that needed to be done. The structures had not been as badly damaged as they had during the battle with Drago Bludvist, but this time around more structures had been damaged, some with just a broken window, others with every window, door, and everything inside smashed up. And at the beginning, Fishlegs and Heather only had their dragons to help them. About all they could really do was fix a few minor problems and take stock of what the village had left, which was appallingly little. Among other things, all the food was either gone or too rotten to eat.

But first they attended to Chief Stoick's body. After killing him, the Hunters had thrown the body onto the beach, where it had frozen with the rest of the island as the winter went on. With the help of their dragons they managed to free it from the hard ground and place it in the ruined Haddock house. Fishlegs assumed Hiccup and Valka would not want a funeral to take place without their presence.

It was a horrible feeling, carrying the headless body of their once great and powerful Chief. Stoick had always seemed invincible and indomitable. Some people had thought he would live forever. And to recall that Viggo Grimborn had executed the man like some common thief instead of granting him a glorious end, filled everyone with dreadful anger, and they prayed that Hiccup was being merciless to Viggo and his black fortress.

A few days later some of the dragons who had fought on the island of ice began arriving in small groups, one which included Valka and Cloudjumper. Naturally everybody was anxious for information, especially about what had happened at Grimmige Festung, but they learned virtually nothing. The lack of news was maddening. Valka told them of her success on the battlefield when she arrived, but that was all she could tell. A battlefield victory coupled with the success against Ryker and the Grimborn vault seemed like good omens, but they might amount to nothing if the work at Grimmige Festung had not gone well, and this worried everyone to no end. Even the considerable work to be done did not provide any real distraction from the agony of wondering and worrying. Every moment someone, human or dragon, looked out to sea or to the air, expecting to see a flock of dragons flying towards them with freed and overjoyed humans on their backs, but nothing like this happened.

Finally, after nearly 5 days had passed since Hiccup's plan had been put into action, Snotlout, Ingrid, and Hookfang arrived. Fishlegs had never been so glad to see his friend, and even Heather felt a huge burst of relief to see Snotlout alive and well, more or less. For her part, Ingrid was glad to have the chance to get away from him.

Snotlout's delight at returning home alive instantly vanished when he saw what had happened to his home during his absence. Nobody had seen him so shaken or distressed since his father had been killed. His house had been damaged horribly, and several of his most valuable possessions had been taken, including some of the weapons his father had once used.

It was not that they were unused to the sight of wrecked homes. The long wars with dragons had seen plenty of those. But dragons had never plundered them like this: they had always been after food stores and livestock, not private possessions. Homes had seldom been the real targets, just unlucky victims caught in the middle of a blaze. But this was different. This attack felt horribly personal.

So far nobody on Berk but Hookfang knew the casualties of Grimmige Festung, and he was so upset about it he flew off almost at once, claiming he was going off to gather information. He returned that evening with the large party that had been at Grimmige Festung. For the moment, everyone who could return home to Berk at last had done so.

At first it was confusing to those who had been waiting on Berk. Nobody now returning seemed too pleased to be back, not even the escaped prisoners like Greta Hofferson. They all seemed grim and silent, even before they had seen the condition of their island. Perplexingly, another black dragon besides Toothless was present too. But even stranger, Astrid was the rider on Toothless and Tuffnut was flying Barf n' Belch without his sister.

And then they realized that the long, oddly shaped bags in Astrid and Tuffnut's arms were not just bags of supplies or spoils of war. They were shrouds wrapped around the bodies of Hiccup and Ruffnut.

Valka screamed. So did others. Astrid slid off Toothless and slumped onto the ground, her husband's body still in her arms. All the humans and dragons present were running towards them, hoping in vain that they were not seeing what they thought they were seeing.

"Get out of my way! Let me through! That's my cousin!" Snotlout yelled, "C'mon, Hiccup, get up! I'm supposed to be the one who went through the valley of Death, not you!"

Valka tried to grab her son and cradle him in her arms but Astrid would not release him. Fishlegs hardly knew whether to run to Astrid or Tuffnut. Instead he stood rooted to the spot and burst into tears. Heather went to Tuffnut, who looked more despondent than she had ever seen him.

"It's alright," he muttered, "We'll be pulling pranks Mildew in no time. She just wants a little rest, is all. She's just messing around with us."

Chicken clucked mournfully.

Late that night Greta went to the Haddock house. As expected, she found her daughter there, carefully washing the face of her dead husband. Toothless was there as well, sitting in a corner and looking moodily at the wall.

Greta carefully approached her daughter. "It's alright, Astrid. He'll be in Valhalla soon."

Astrid snorted. "You think he'll be happier for it?"

"Well, he can be with his father now." Stoick's body was laid out next to the right of Hiccup's. Ruffnut's was on the left. Tuffnut had fallen asleep on the remains of a chair. "They'll finally have time to share with each other."

"Assuming the Gods let them both into the same place," Astrid muttered. She gently traced a hand down Hiccup's cold cheek. "I should've known this might happen,"

"Astrid—"

"I knew about those swords being poisoned. I should've warned him, I should have—"

Her mother embraced her and she started crying.

"And we were just about to become parents! What am I going to do, mother? I don't know how to raise a child! We all saw what happened to Stoick when he tried to run a tribe and raise a boy by himself—what if the same thing happens to me?"

Her mother spoke as if her daughter was an infant again. "I'm still here, Astrid, I'll help you. So will Stormfly and all your friends. Toothless will help, won't you? It's going to be alright, you'll see. We'll make sure you don't neglect your child."

She calmed down a little, but only just. "And to think it was always Hiccup who was worried about this. I never thought I'd have to raise our child without him—oh Gods, why? Why couldn't it have been some other poison, something we could've cured? Why did it have to be poison at all? Gods, why couldn't you let me save him?"

Toothless was feeling guilty too. He blamed himself for not somehow breaking free of the Alpha's grip sooner. If he had he could have joined Hiccup, and then they could have taken on Viggo together, and he could have defended him. He knew it was pointless to think such things and that he was really about as blameless as anybody else, but that did not make him feel any better or think differently.

Valka came in and at once felt like an intruder. "Oh, I'm sorry, I'll just be—"

"No, it's all right, Valka," Greta said quickly. Astrid brushed the tears out of her eyes. "You have every right to be here. Come on in. We are family, after all."

Valka sat down next to the bodies. "Why do I get to live while my son and husband die?"

For a long time the only sounds heard were Astrid's sniffing and Tuffnut's heavy breathing: the dirge of the mourners. The ransacked room, which looked as though a tidal wave had passed through, was as depressing as any room could look.

Toothless suddenly laughed, to the astonishment of everyone. " **Well, he got what he wanted. Astrid's now the Chief and he doesn't have to be! HA**!" The laughs had a steel edge of bitterness to them. " **Of course, he won't get to see his child, he won't get to fly on me anymore, he won't get to see his plans fulfilled, he—well, he won't get to do anything now because he's gone. Gone**!" The Night Fury buried his head in his paws. Greta patted him on the back gently but he pulled away from her.

There was another long silence which Valka broke. "What happened to Viggo?"

"Dead," said Astrid without emotion, "Dagur poisoned him. We left the carcass for scavengers to feed on."

The following morning the three bodies were placed in a ship, which was set adrift after the icy water was broken up. Vikings did not usually use funeral ships, as ships were frightfully expensive and time consuming to build, but in this case Astrid felt an exception should be made. After all, this vessel was carrying two Chiefs of Berk. And she could not bear the thought of watching up close Hiccup's body burn in a funeral pyre. Ruffnut was placed with them. She had held less status than the two men, but it would have felt wrong to bury her somewhere else.

When the ship had floated a short distance, Valka gave a signal, for Astrid could not bear to, and Toothless spat some plasma at it. The other dragons joined in and soon the ship was engulfed in flames. Then part of the stern blew up and hastened the sinking.

Everyone looked at Tuffnut.

"Nightmare gel mixed with combustible powder. I—I couldn't send her off without one more explosion!" he sobbed.

There were no prayers or rites recited, because there was nobody present who had the power to recite them. Instead they stood on the shore and watched in silence. The only sounds were the waves lapping against the shore, the cackling of the flames as they consumed the timber, and a handful of weeping spectators. There were more Bog Burglars than Berkians or Defenders present, but they wept for Berk's loss, as well as for their friends whom they had fought alongside many times. There were far more dragons than humans present, but they could not shed tears. Partway out at sea stood the Bewilderbeast, the water up to his knees, his massive head bowed respectfully. The new King of Dragons was paying his respects to the previous one.

Nobody looked away until the ship sank beneath the waves. Black smoke rose slowly over the waters.

At last, Astrid sighed heavily and shook her head. "Come on, everyone. We've got work to do. They wouldn't want us neglecting it."

"Neglecting what?" Snotlout asked hoarsely.

Now that her husband was gone for good, her only desires were to finish what he had begun. "We've got our village to rebuild, and we've got to send out dragons to rescue the ones being shipped into slavery."

"We'll help with that," Camicazi assured her, "We've got more dragons and Riders. We'll help you find your tribe."

" **So shall we** ," the Bewilderbeast called to them. " **My species is at your command, if you will permit it**."

"We will aid you as well," Queen Mala promised.

"I've got a tribe of my own to take deal with, but I'll help where I can," Thuggory added.

"And I'll send some dragons out for fishing," Fishlegs said quietly, "there's nothing left to eat here and Thawfest won't be for weeks at best."

"I'll help you with that," Eret offered, "I'm a hunter, after all,"

Valka spoke up hesitantly. "Before we do some of that, there's one other matter I'd like to discuss,"

"What's that?" Thuggory asked.

"What are we going to do with the people we've just conquered?"

Several people looked confused. "I was under the impression the plan was to use dragons to carry them into exile," said Queen Mala.

"It was, but…well, look, when we were rounding up prisoners, I started thinking about their families. I spent over 20 years separated from mine and now I've lost them again. Call me soft, but I feel reluctant to condemn others to such a fate. I thought perhaps Hiccup's sentence of exile was a little too harsh and maybe, once his plan succeeded, he would relent." She had never dreamed he would be past relenting.

"So what are you saying exactly?" Astrid asked. She had known a little about this part of the plan, but until now had paid no attention to it.

"I'm saying nobody's been flown into exile yet. All our prisoners—including your father, Thuggory—are still on that sheet of ice. So what will we do with them?"

"Get rid of them," Queen Mala said coolly. "They fought against us and lost. If we spare them they will rise again and there will be more battles. Death is best."

"And what about their families? What about their tribesmen who weren't in the battle? What about their children? Shall we kill them all too?" Valka asked in an equally cold tone.

"Cubs become wolves in time,"

"Then _you_ can be the one to kill them. I'll have no part in that."

"And these aren't a bunch of animals we're talking about!" Astrid exclaimed, "These are humans and fellow Vikings! We can't just murder them! That would make us no better than Viggo! Hel, that would make us even worse! Hiccup wouldn't—"

"And remember we agreed my tribe would be spared!" Thuggory interrupted anxiously. "I have our treaty in writing right here, and it's signed by Hiccup and Bertha and myself!"

Camicazi spoke up. "The Romans were usually reasonable and considerate to those they conquered, so long as their laws were obeyed. Usually, anyway."

It was shaping up to be an endless debate, but then the Bewilderbeast coughed. All eyes turned to him. " **Now I know you cannot all understand me, but in my opinion, this is a matter for Berk to decide. Berk suffered the most from Viggo's actions and this alliance would not have won if not for Berk's late Chief. So I think this decision is up to Berk's new Chief: the Lady Astrid Hofferson**."

All eyes turned to Astrid now. She stood a while in thought, asking herself what her father would have done.

She took a deep and weary breath. "I don't want more families destroyed needlessly. Return them to their homes." Before anyone could argue she loudly added, "Their islands are now ours. I'll appoint new Chiefs for them and make them swear oaths of allegiance. If they obey our laws and never harm us or dragons again, they'll live in peace."

"But we tried that sort of thing with the Berserkers last time and they turned against us at the first chance!" Snotlout protested.

"That's mostly because their Chief wanted revenge against us. I don't think they'll go against us a third time. From what I've heard, I don't think they'll have the strength now. But if they do still want revenge, and if we scatter them throughout Europe they almost certainly will, it would be better for us to control their tribes and keep them where we can watch them. Still, we'll tell them that any who don't want to live under Berk's control are free to leave."

So it was settled. Their prisoners would be returned to their homes, and every tribe who had fought against them, excluding the Meat Heads, was now under Berk's authority. A number of tribes had risen against Berk because they had feared Berk would one day seek to rule them yet ironically, by siding against Berk, the very thing they had sought to prevent had now come to pass.

Toothless had ignored the whole discussion. He had remained standing on the beach, his eyes never leaving the place where the ship had sunk beneath the waves. " **And just like that, it's all over** ,"

" **So what will you do now**?" His friend Midnight asked, " **To be honest, we feared you might try to join him** ,"

Toothless shook his head, " **No, we promised a long time ago we would not kill ourselves when the other one died. But I always hoped—thought—expected we'd go out together**."

" **So what will you do**?"

Toothless growled. " **My way forward is clear. His island needs to be restored, and someone has to see our plans through to completion. I'm still a Beta, and I've got my nest to save. And when his child is born, I'm going to look after the hatchling, just as he would have intended. I'll make sure it gets the love he didn't**."

Midnight nodded. " **And perhaps you'll have your own hatchlings one day? I mean, you've got a female Night Fury now…** "

" **With a broken neck** ," Toothless said, misery replacing his determination.

" **Where is this female Night Fury, anyway?** " Shamrock the Treejumper asked.

" **She and those tending to her were left behind at the ruins of that fortress. They felt they could not risk moving her yet. Her brother is with her.** " He glanced at Sclepus, who was standing nearby. " **We'll see what happens**."

" **Don't we always**?" the Treejumper said wistfully, " **Don't we always** ,"

Later that day, Dagur was in a foul mood as he sat down next to Heather, who was repairing some leather saddles that would be needed for the coming flights. "The nerve of her! The nerve of her!"

"What are you talking about? The nerve of whom?"

"That woman Astrid! I've been banished from Berk! Can you believe it? She had the nerve to banish me. Me! This is what I get for acting nice and bringing her Viggo's body! I'll never bring her a dead body again!" he crossed his arms and scrunched up in a snit.

"Why'd she banish you?"

"She said," and he altered his voice to sound like a spiteful woman, "'I'm grateful for your help this time, but you've caused us plenty of grief in the past, so I want you gone by tomorrow morning and I don't want to ever see you on Berk again!' And I said, 'oh yeah? And who are you to give such orders?' And she said 'I'm Astrid Haddock, Chief of Berk!' Oh the injustice of it all, sister!" he burst into very loud tears. "She had the nerve to banish lovable old Dagur the Deranged! And just after my brother's funeral and before I'm to become an uncle too! I'll bet she just doesn't want me playing with her child!"

"Yeah, she probably fears you'd be a bad influence," Heather sniggered in spite of herself.

"Would not! I could teach him all kinds of things! I could teach him how to cut up—"

"Who said the baby's going to be a boy?" she interrupted, "she could have a girl, you know,"

Dagur sniffed.

"So what are you going to do now that you're banished from Berk _and_ the Berserkers?" Assuming there was anything left of the Berserkers to be banished from.

"Well, she was nice enough to offer me a ship and what provisions she could spare. I suppose I'll start looking for Dad. Or back looking to go. Or go back to looking, I mean."

Heather paused. "For Oswald?"

"Yep! After all, I found you against all odds! He might be out there too, somewhere! How about it, Sister? Will you come with me? Then we can search for Oswald together and be a nice proper throat-splitting family again!"

He looked at her eagerly. She looked away.

"Well I…no, Dagur, I don't think…"

His delight turned to disgust, "It's that Mala lady, isn't it? Let me guess, she's ordered you to do something else!"

"No, actually. I just think I'm going to stay on Berk for a while. Help them rebuild and all that."

Dagur pointed a finger accusingly at her. "It's someone else, isn't it? It's a boy, isn't it? It's that Snotlout Jorgenson isn't it?"

Heather nearly gagged.

"I knew it!"

"No, Dagur, it isn't Snotlout."

"Who then?"

She shrugged, though her face was a little red. "I just think I'll be more useful here than anywhere else!"

"Uh-huh,"

"But if you do find something about Oswald's whereabouts—"

"Couldn't you come with me for just a little while?" he pleaded.

Heather looked past her brother's shoulder and saw Fishlegs busy with repairing a home. "Sorry, Dagur, but no." She stood up and went over to join Fishlegs.

"It's been decided," he said numbly. "We know where all the ships are heading, so Astrid's distributed the locations among the dragons. A few humans will go with each group."

"Are you going with them?"

He shook his head. "No. I'd like to, but Meatlug's almost broken down from all the traveling we've done these past months. She needs rest. And I'm not flying anywhere without her." He chuckled a little. "Astrid wanted to go, but everybody else was against it, on account of her pregnancy. Stormfly refused to carry her."

"She isn't even that far along yet."

"Well, who knows how long this rescue is going to take? Besides, we can't risk losing her too."

"You think it'll be dangerous? You think we won't be able to save everybody?"

He sighed. "I don't know, Heather. I'm hoping it'll be really easy, since Viggo's gone and all that, but who knows what other threats are out in the world? And even if we do save them and bring them all back to Berk, I don't think this place will ever feel like home again."

"It will," Heather said softly, "We'll make it feel like home,"

"I suppose only time will—wait, ' _we'_?"

Heather leaned closer and kissed him on the cheek.

Many, many weeks later, high above the Atlantic Ocean, Queen Mala sat upon Trachyte the Eruptodon. Her cold gaze went from the equally frigid if much more shifting waters, to the Dragon Eye, which she clenched in her hand.

"And to think, that this device should be the architect of so much death and misery. It is time to do with it as our founders should have done long ago—what _I_ should have done long ago."

They were leagues upon leagues away from the nearest land. Only the ocean could be seen no matter which direction they turned. Beneath them there was nothing to distinguish this part of the sea from any other part. That was exactly the way she wanted it. Hiccup had devised the means to pull the Dragon Eye out of a lake, but with Hiccup and Viggo gone she doubted anyone would be able to retrieve it from the depths in the center of the Atlantic. At any rate, it was the most secure hiding spot she could think of.

She patted the Eruptodon on the back. "And only you and I will know where it has been hidden. When our deaths come, the secret will die with us."

Trachyte gulped. " **Hopefully it'll be a while before that happens** ,"

With that, Mala threw the Eye into the air and they watched it plummet downwards and sink into the sea.

"May it never feel the warmth of the sunlight upon it again," she said as Trachyte turned around and flew back the way they had come.

Only one lens still survived intact: the lens Hiccup had dug up in the Tabernas Desert. It had been placed beside him on his funeral ship. The surviving Defenders had been tasked with destroying the other 24 lenses. These were first crushed beneath the Bewilderbeast's feet, and, in secret, Throk had taken the splintered remains and consigned them to the inner chambers of the volcano Trachyte inhabited. Queen Mala hoped that this way there would never be a repatriation of the awful events of the past year.


	41. Chapter 41

**Whoever said Chapter 40 was going to be the last chapter in this story?**

 **I Own Nothing**

 **All Rights Reserved**

 **Chapter 41**

 **Apotheosis**

Astrid looked down at the large pile of parchment on the table and raised her eyebrows. "That's quite a book, Fishlegs,"

"Well, your husband was the most extraordinary man I ever knew. There was a lot to write about," Fishlegs Ingerman answered, reddening a little. "There are a few gaps, sadly, especially in the early years. Even Toothless couldn't tell me everything I wanted to know, but I think it's as comprehensive it'll ever be." He sat down in a chair and put a hand to his forehead. "Man, it's a relief to finally have it finished! Five years! Can you believe it? You have any idea how many of his old journals I've gone through over and over again, looking for all the tiny biographical details? I nearly drove old Toothless crazy with the endless questioning!" He flexed his fingers. "Five years of work! I think my hands are going to be permanently cramped up from all the writing."

"I'm sure Hiccup would be flattered you put so much effort into his first and so far only biography." she said, glancing at a page.

"Go on, read it!"

Reluctantly she put it aside. "Later. Look at this." She held up a letter. "It's from Camicazi. Since Gort died without an heir, rivals have been fighting over the Owl Guts Chiefdom, and apparently they'd decided to settle the matter with a looting contest, went to raid some merchant ships, and got decimated."

"So us and the Bog Burglars are all that remain of the Vikings in these parts?" Fishlegs asked uneasily. The Meat Heads had been so few in number that their tribesmen had either struck out on their own or joined with the Bog Burglars. This unification had been sealed by the marriage of Thuggory and Camicazi.

"Pretty much. There are still a handful of small tribes scattered here and there, but they won't amount to much." She put the letter down. "Gort once envisioned a Vikings collation, you know. He wanted a great alliance of Viking tribes united by a common culture, something strong enough to match the other powers in the world. Hiccup thought like that too sometimes, only he wanted dragons to be a part of it. But now? Now I think there's no chance there'll ever be one."

Someone pounded loudly on the door.

"That's Gobber knock if I've ever heard it,"

It was Gobber all right, and he had been pounding on the door with his hammer appendage because his legitimate hand was holding a small girl by the back of her shirt. She was no older than five and had russet red hair which almost matched a face that was ripe red with embarrassment.

"Chief, I've caught 'er pinchin' from ma leather supplies a-gin!" he announced. There was amusement rather than ill-will in his tone, but that did not stop the girl from trying to pull free from his grip. From his position by the empty fireplace, Toothless the Night Fury looked up in alarm, ready to strike at once if they mishandled the girl in any way.

Astrid looked more bemused than concerned. "Solveig, what did I tell you?"

"Not ta steal from Uncle Gobber's leaffer," the girl said.

"Leather. Put your tongue between your teeth." Astrid said.

"Leaffffffer." Gobber set the girl down and Toothless darted over to her. She put her arms around his leg with difficulty, for his legs were nearly too thick for her reach, and he nuzzled her.

Astrid said, "We'll work on it later, sweetheart. But first, you give back whatever you've stolen from Uncle Gobber."

"But I'm gonna make a new sad-ill fa Tooffless!" she protested. "You say I can't fly on Tooffless cause I'm too small, so I think it's cause the sad-ill's too big, so I think if I change sad-ill, I can fly on Tooffless!"

Astrid put her head in her hands. So her daughter thought the reason she could not ride on Toothless was because the saddle was too big for her? She went over to Solveig and picked her up. "Sweetheart, I don't want Toothless to take you flying because you're too small—"

"I know! So I try to fix it!"

"Changing the saddle size isn't going to fix this, Solveig. You need to grow more first."

"Yes it will! I got plans!" She held up a sheet of parchment with numerous charcoal doodles on it. "It'll works! Toofffless and I go flying! We'll touch the clouds, mommy! Daddy wood-n't mind!"

"Oh believe me, Solveig, your father would have minded an awful lot if you went flying on Toothless at your age." Astrid said heavily.

" **Only if she'd gone alone**!" the Night Fury said, " **He'd never have objected if he was with her**!"

"Gobber, do you want everything returned or should I just compensate you this time?"

Gobber shrugged dismissively, "Aw, jest ferget it. Ah jest wanted ya ta know wot yer daughter's bin upta. Now, if ya'll x-cuse me, ah've got work ta do." He headed out the door with a laugh.

"Perhaps I should be going to?" Fishlegs suggested.

Astrid asked him to wait. Then she told Toothless to take Solveig upstairs. " **But don't you** _ **dare**_ **think of going flying with her**!" she added sharply in Dragonese, " **I told you very clearly: not until she's 10!"**

Toothless snorted impatiently as he chased after Solveig.

Stormfly the Nadder had been sitting in a corner, watching and listening. " **I have a feeling those two are going to become insufferable soon. She wants to go flying already and he wants to take her flying, and you say they can't…oh sweet spines and eggs, this is going to be a long five years**!"

" **Ah, it'll pass quick enough** ," Astrid said wistfully, " **besides, it's not like Toothless can't fly. He's still got that black tailfin. He just doesn't let anyone sit on his back now. That saddle of his hasn't been used since…well, since Hiccup died**."

" **And Solveig was going to build him a new one** ," Stormfly laughed, " **I think we all know which side of the family** _ **that**_ **trait came from! She's got her mother's eyes and strength, though."**

Fishlegs was fidgeting. "As pleasant as it is to hear about these things, Heather's going to be expecting me home at any moment, so—"

"Right. I just wanted to ask you if you would mind leaving your book here for a while. I'd like to share some of it with Solveig."

"Are you sure? A lot of it's not exactly suitable for children, and the fact that it happened to her own father might really upset her."

"She'll learn the truth sooner or later. And while I certainly won't tell her anything about Adoncia or the bullying! But there are some happy moments she'd love to hear about, right? Like when he and Toothless first became friends, or when mommy visited daddy at his Sanctuary. And I want to make sure you wrote those moments correctly!" she added with a dangerous glint in her eyes. "Actually, now that I think about it, I'm going to read the entire thing!"

Fishlegs fidgeted even more. His masterwork would now be judged by his Chief, who just so happened to be the widow of his subject matter. Suddenly he began to fret over the formation of every sentence and paragraph he could remember. This fretting was almost certain to keep him up all night!

Astrid went on. "I also need you to take a letter for me."

He groaned. "More writing?"

"It's your own fault for being better with letters than I am! Now, I want you to inform the Christian High Priest—"

"You mean the Pope."

"I can call him what I like. He doesn't call _me_ Chief of Berk because I'm a woman. But use his proper title in the letter, of course."

"'To his Holiness Pope Gregory VII,'" Fishlegs muttered as he wrote.

"Anyway, tell him we accept the trade offers and reassure him that we will not allow dragons to be used by other monarchs against him, and we will not raid any Christian settlements if we are left alone as well. You know how to frame it. Bring it to me when you're finished."

"When I'm—and just where are _you_ going?" he demanded. "Chief?"

"To take Solveig to her training class and make my rounds of course."

Toothless spent much of his time these days with Solveig, but when she went to training that afternoon he left her and went to the Nest, a building recently erected on Berk adjoining the Dragon Stables. It had been built specifically as a safe place for dragons to lay their eggs in. He had a personal reason for visiting now: he wanted to check on Radamar.

She was lying on a pile of hay on one of the lofts, taping her tail impatiently against a wooden beam. Though she would not move, Toothless knew there were two large eggs underneath her.

He moved in front of her, for Radamar was incapable of turning her head. Her neck was unlikely to ever fully heal from Agaruba's attack, so Gobber had built a metal neck brace for her to wear. It had irritated her immensely at first, and she had to hold her head in the same position nearly all the time, but she was alive, and she knew very well that was something to be thankful for. Though her neck could not move, her mouth could and she smiled at her mate. Toothless had taught her that.

" **How are you feeling**?" he asked.

" **I miss the Yellow Stone on my wings** ," she replied, " **I'd love to get out of this straw and breathe fresh air again, and I don't feel very comfortable sleeping here,"** Normally Radamar slept with him in the Haddock house, but ever since she had become pregnant she had stayed in the Nest. " **But duty comes first, of course** ,"

" **I should say so! Those are our hatchlings you're taking care of**!" He sat down in front of her. " **How much longer do you think it'll be**?"

" **Another few days, I think. You know, Toothless, I think the one on the right smells like it'll be a Vav. Shall we name him 'Hiccup'**?"

Toothless shook his head at once. He looked so upset that Radamar at once said " **I'm sorry, Toothless, I didn't mean to** —"

" **No, it's all right, it's just…well, he never liked his name. He told me that if he had his way nobody would ever be named 'Hiccup' again. Much as I'd love to name someone after him in his honor, I think it would be** _ **dis**_ **honorable to give someone the name he despised. And I'd rather my son was given his own name, not someone else's, not even someone as amazing and special as Hiccup**."

Radamar nodded and laughed. " **And we certainly won't name either of them after my Hoah**!"

Toothless snorted. Menomem had not been seen by either of them ever since that last night, and as far as they knew she still was mute.

" **And if any hatchling is a male, don't name him 'Salistus'**!" A Scuttleclaw from a nearby loft called. The other dragons agreed vigorously and shuddered.

" **Ugh! Don't even think about it! No offense, Radamar—we like you a lot, but your brother was a real pain**!"

" **I once asked him to help tow some logs and he said it was not fit for an** _ **Alepha**_ ," a Gronkle growled. " **Only lesser dragons are fit for menial work, he said**."

" **You'd think losing his rank would have made him humbler, but no**!"

" **He was well on his way to replacing Old Mildew—curse that man!—before he left** ," Evictus the Timberjack agreed as he passed by. There was more shuddering and others joined in cursing Mildew's name. It had become the fashion on Berk, once it was made known that Mildew had set Viggo free, making him largely responsible for the Sacking of Berk and all that had happened because of it. Not even Hiccup in his unpopular childhood had been hated and reviled as much as Mildew was now. And Salistus, who had retained his stuck up and pampered personality even after losing his rank, had almost become just as despised, except he had left four years ago after a final heated arguments with Toothless. Where he was now and what he was doing nobody knew, and only Radamar ever grieved for him.

There were five other Night Furies on Berk at the moment. Sclepus had left nearly four years before and only returned maybe once a year. He was seeking out the long cold trail of his brother. The only lead he had was to find where Toothless had hatched, not an easy task as Toothless himself barely remembered that place. Everyone knew it was almost certainly a hopeless search, and Sclepus knew most of all, but he had decided it worth the effort.

Toothless thought of the eggs beneath Radamar. Two large black eggs with deep purple splotches on them. And inside of them were two unborn Night Furies. A little more hope for his species.

Astrid had more to think about than two eggs. She was making her rounds, like Chief Stoick used to do. She passed Tuffnut Thorsten on the way. He nodded respectfully and went off without a word, Chicken waddling behind him.

"He hardly ever talks these days," she said sadly to herself.

At the docks she paused and watched some sailors using a crane to drop cargo onto their ship. It was the very crane Hiccup had designed and they had used the design for two more such cranes to increase their productivity. Astrid had decided that Berk's future now depended heavily on trade, and that meant they needed the means for more cargo to be shipped to and from the island.

People passed by her, nodding or giving a casual greeting as they went about their work. It perplexed her a little. The Pope had been reluctant to acknowledge her as the real Chief of Berk because she was a woman and several nearby countries thought the same. As far as they were concerned she was just a regent looking after a throne until a male heir could claim it. Yet on Berk itself nobody objected to the idea of a woman running the island.

She had shared this with Camicazi the last time they had spoken, and Camicazi had laughed it off. "We Bog Burglars get that all the time! Those fools don't know what they're talking about! I'll bet a woman could rule France or Norway as well as any man, and maybe better!"

She was shaken from her thoughts by the sudden arrival of her daughter. Solveig came rushing over and, with a cheer, leapt at her mother like a small wolf. Astrid instinctively caught the little rogue in midair.

"You're going to have to try harder to catch me by surprise, Solveig!"

"I get you one day, mommy!" the girl grinned.

Toothless joined them, and Astrid set Solveig down on his back, and they walked around the village together. Everybody loved to see the Haddocks walking around together. It was a sweet sight that had been largely absent during the previous generation.

" **So what did you learn about today**?" Toothless asked. Solveig could understand Dragonese, though speaking it was still a challenge for her.

"We ffffrowing axes! Noseblister missed target and nearly killed Tetry!"

"And how did you do?" Astrid asked. "Did you hit the bull's-eye at all?"

She shook her head glumly. "No."

Astrid gestured to her ear. She was slightly deaf now. "What was that?"

"No!" Solveig pouted.

"No? Well we'll just see about that. I'm going to have to teach you myself!" Astrid said playfully, making a mental note to give Solveig some lessons later that week.

"Yes, yes! Teacher said you good fffrower!"

"'A good thrower,'" Astrid corrected. She made Solveig repeat her words a few times. "And yes, I am very good with an axe. I could throw this so it passed an inch in front of your father's nose!" She held up her trusty old axe to reinforce her message.

" **And the trees still bear the scars you've inflicted** ," Stormfly chuckled.

Solveig laughed and Astrid ruffled her hair. Then Solveig frowned. Gustav Larsen was approaching. She did not really like the man. He was often bothering her mother and Solveig did not approve of anyone who did that.

"Good afternoon, O Wise and Beautiful Chief," he said with an exaggerated bow, "Nice day, yes?"

"Very nice," Astrid replied, "What's that in your hand?"

"Oh, another letter that came to me by mistake—"

"That seems to be happening quite a bit these days," Astrid said suspiciously. He had likely gotten this letter 'by mistake' on purpose so he had an excuse to approach her.

He handed the letter to her, "Sorry, but I took the liberty of reading it—the Chief of the Puke-Heads has—"

" **A serious need to rename his tribe**?" Toothless suggested. Solveig and Stormfly howled with laughter.

"—an offer of marriage for you and his son. He assures you such a match would produce plenty of wealth, status, children, and—"

Astrid snorted. "Wealth and status from a tribe that has only 30 people, 10 dragons, and six cows in it? Hah! They're just trying to get a piece of _our_ success. And I can't have more children."

"Yes, I—I know that, but he doesn't,"

"Oh yes he does. Nothing about a Chief stays secret for long in these parts, especially where their heir is concerned." Hiccup's death, the stress of rebuilding Berk, and pregnancy had taken a toll on Astrid and had nearly caused a miscarriage. Some said it was only by the intervention of the Gods that Solveig was born at all, but even if it was it had still been a very painful and nearly fatal experience for Astrid. The healers agreed another pregnancy would almost certainly kill her and strongly advised against having any more children. This hardly bothered Astrid, as she had no desire to have children by somebody besides Hiccup. Yet that did not stop the marriage offers from time to time. "Well, thank you, Gustav. I shall certainly give it all the consideration it is due."

"I would advise against it, myself." he hinted.

"You must've read my mind," she replied, handing the letter to Stormfly, who lit the parchment on fire.

"On the other hand, Solveig would be better off with a father—"

"It depends on who the father is," Astrid retorted, "and that's a concern for her family to take care of."

Gustav got the implication and went home.

" **I sometimes wonder why he still tries** ," Stormfly commented.

" **He thinks if Hiccup could succeed in wedding Astrid, he can too** ," Toothless snorted.

" **Even after all this time**?"

The Night Fury shrugged. " **It's his life he's wasting, not mine** ,"

In the rebuilt and refurbished Mead Hall, Snotlout took a swig from his mug of ale. He had not had a drop of water since he had recovered from cholera. He poured some into Hookfang's mouth, and Hookfang spat out a particularly large jet of flames. Several people ducked.

"Ten meters! That's your best one yet!"

" **Give me time, I can do better**!"

Heather stormed over. The tips of her hair were singed. Snotlout panicked. "It's Hookfang's fault! He breathed the fire, not me!"

She grabbed him by the collar. "And who gave him the ale and encouraged him?"

"Hookfang! Protect me! Protect your Rider!"

" **Is that going to require getting up?** " the Nightmare yawned.

The crowd laughed and cheered for a fight. Heather slapped Snotlout's face a few times, dropped him on the floor, and made to leave. But before Snotlout could gloat she uttered a cry and Windshear flung spines at him, pinning him to the floor.

"Let's see you get out of that one!" Heather laughed as Snotlout wailed. She stepped outside and took a deep breath. As she exhaled she spotted Valka Haddock, who had returned from Greenland only a few days ago, and went to greet her.

"How's the nest going?"

"It's getting larger." Valka replied, "A lot of them are eager to be with the Alpha. And with all the fights going on throughout Europe a lot of dragons are seeking new homes."

Heather shook her head. "All we ever seem to hear about Europe is fighting. If they're not fighting for another person's territory they're fighting with the Pope or they're fighting with themselves."

"And they only want dragons as weapons, like Bludvist," Valka added in disgust. "Thankfully the Bewilderbeast this time has the power to prevent that. He only needs to summon a dragon and they'll come, and their captors will have to fight with the weapons they make. Those are lethal enough."

"Don't I know it?" Heather said, gesturing to her axe. "Of course, this hadn't shed blood for a long time. We've been pretty peaceful these past five years."

That peacefulness was not accidental. Rome, after learning what had transpired with Viggo Grimborn, at first maintained a tactful silence on the subject. The Berkians assumed they were simply avoiding the issue. Then out of the blue, less than two years after Hiccup's death, they learned that Pope Alexander II had died. His successor, Gregory VII, had his own agenda. He wanted Papal authority to be stronger, and was not interested in letting other rulers get their hands on dragons to use against him. Since Astrid did not want dragons used in that way either, she managed to obtain some concessions out of Gregory, using Fishlegs as a mediator (few places were willing to negotiate with a woman directly). Among other things, Denmark got her dragons back. The King of Denmark was a personal friend of Gregory and promised him his dragons would only ever fight in his favor. There had even been talk of converting to Christianity, but though some had expressed curiosity and interest, Astrid had refused.

After aimlessly wandering down to the docks, while waiting for Fishlegs to arrive, the two women and Cloudjumper sat down. The day was pleasant to behold, but chilly. The sky was half cloudy, half clear, but the sun felt feeble. A lot of people were out on their dragons. The air was full of them, yet never at any moment did it seem to be cluttered or overwhelming. The dragons flew slowly and gracefully enough to resemble great birds soaring over the water. As always, it was a majestic sight. Seeing them in this light this was enough to make anyone wonder who on earth would ever want to harm a dragon.

It seemed a happy place now, Berk. And given how much suffering it had felt throughout the centuries, it had certainly earned it. Everyone had a place to live, food to eat, money to spend (and for anyone who did not it was largely their own fault), family and friends all living less than a stone's throw away, and hope for the future. That was more than could be said a while ago.

Of course, this happiness had come at a price, and a steep one, even when only considering the aftermath of the Sacking. Heather had not personally been involved in the rescues, because Astrid had said she had done enough already, but she knew all about them. Large groups of dragons accompanied by a few Riders flew to the locations listed in Viggo's ledgers, and searching whatever ship came their way. In many cases they had flown so fast they intercepted a slave ship before it even reached its destination. Once they did, the attacks were simple and merciless to anyone who stood in their way. Heather remembered clearly the joy and relief everyone had felt when the first group returned. It had been short lived, but for a few wonderful minutes everybody cheered themselves hoarse and was happy.

Yet for all their efforts to track down everybody and save them from slavery, two of the ships and the poor souls on them had never been found. Their fates remained a mystery, and it was finally concluded that both ships had gone with all hands to the bottom of the sea. The sea never stayed safe for long even in the summer, and those ships had been sailing in mid-winter.

Suddenly she felt a clenching pain in her chest. She could not bring herself to think of this any longer and her gaze shifted to one group up in the air. It was a collection of older children learning to ride dragons. Fishlegs's Father was teaching a handful about Gronkles, using Meatlug for demonstrations. Judging by their expressions, for some this was their first time in the air, and they were clearly enjoying it. Heather smiled and hoped they did not have the same experience she had gone through on her first flight.

"It looks amazing, doesn't it?" She remarked, "Kids learning how to fly with Dragons. It cost him his life, but in the end Berk became what Hiccup wanted it to be."

"I never dared hope this would happen in my lifetime." Valka answered, "And to think it was my only child who brought it about. And yet…he would've been happy, yes, but I can't help but think he would have been unsatisfied. He would have set his sights elsewhere. He would have wanted everyone to live this way."

" **His ambition would likely have overreached itself in that case**." Cloudjumper commented.

"Maybe. Maybe it's a family curse to have ambitions that exceed what's actually possible."

"Well, he got Vikings to live with dragons peacefully. That's something," Heather said brightly. "Even Queen Mala has a dragon now!"

" **When your tribe is among the most powerful in this Archipelago now, naturally you wield some influence** ," Cloudjumper remarked. " **Still, at least the hunting is largely ended.** "

With the death of the Grimborns, Dragon Hunting had collapsed. Few had the nerve to hunt anymore and the greedy ones decided there were easier and safer ways to make profits. These days the only hunting that took place was when a stray dragon raided someone's crops so many times the community turned out to get rid of it, and nobody on Berk, human or dragon, could really object to that.

By the time Fishlegs turned up, which was a lot later than anyone had expected, it was time for dinner. To everyone's amusement except his, he tried to use his left hand to hold utensils because his right was too sore to hold anything.

"I'll never write again," he moaned.

"But you haven't finished the new Book of Dragons yet!" Heather laughed. He sighed with a depressed air of resignation.

Astrid was seated with her mother and Valka. Solveig was at another table with Toothless and her friends.

Tuffnut was sitting a table by himself, ignoring everyone else, when Snotlout joined him. "Hey pal, what's up?"

Tuffnut shrugged.

"Listen, I've got an idea: why don't we blow up the bathhouse tomorrow?"

Tuffnut thought a moment and shook his head. "No thanks,"

"C'mon, Tuff! Think of how terrific an explosion it will be!"

Tuffnut again shook his head. Snotlout looked at his friend seriously. "Tuff, it's been five years. Living miserably isn't going to bring her back."

"Who says I am?"

"You hardly talk, you hardly socialize, you never blow anything up or prank people—you're almost _boring_! Would Ruffnut want you to be like this?"

"She might."

"Well would you want Ruff to be like this if you had died and she had lived?"

"I might." Tuffnut replied, a slight smile on his face. He sighed. "Snot, your idea sounds like a lot of fun. But it just wouldn't be the same. I know explosions will never be as amazing as they were when Ruffnut was here, and I'd rather remember them as they were than see pathetic imitations of them."

Snotlout chewed his food sullenly. "So then what have you been doing this whole time?"

Tuffnut looked a bit embarrassed. "I'm writing a book—"

" _You? A book_?"

"Yeah. It's an account of every prank we ever pulled that I can remember. I thought, since my days as a Disciple of Loki have drawn to a close, I would prepare a list of accomplishments and instructions to bequeath to my successors!" For a moment Snotlout saw the old and overly dramatic Tuffnut before him. It made him smile, but then he remembered something.

"Wait a minute! That means people in the future are going to know about all the pranks you've pulled on _me_!"

Tuffnut laughed. It was a fine laugh for someone who was out of practice.

Snotlout was indignant but then he thought of something else and it made him grin smugly. "You better not show it to Astrid! She'll tear up any page that has you pulling pranks on Hiccup on it!"

Tuffnut's face fell. "Actually, I decided most of those ones aren't going to be included. They're nothing to be proud of. And it would be shameful to depict a fellow Disciple of Loki in such a manner."

Over at Astrid's table, unaware that Snotlout still intended to blow up the bathhouse, Astrid, Valka, and Greta were talking about dragons. Astrid thought it was high time Greta bonded with one, and Valka enthusiastically favored it, but Greta was as reluctant as ever.

As they talked they became aware of some noise from behind. Evidently Gustav Larsen had had too much to drink and was making a fool of himself. They let it be and ignored him. Then all of a sudden they heard Solveig cry out in fury, heard a loud cracking sound, and when they spun around they saw Gustav rolling around on the floor clutching his knee. Several kids cheered but others looked alarmed. Solveig herself was looking at Gustav, a furious expression on her face.

Astrid came over at once. "What happened?" she demanded.

"She's a monster! She tried to break my leg!" Gustav cried.

Astrid turned her stern gaze on her daughter. "Solveig?"

Toothless curled his tail protectively around the girl, " **It was his own fault. I was about to do the same, and you would've too**."

" _What_ was his own fault?"

One of the village carpenters spoke up. "He was imitating Hiccup. You know how he'd hobble around when his fake leg wasn't attached?"

"Yes?"

"Well—err—that's what he was doing. And Solveig didn't like it."

"Clearly," Valka Haddock said dryly.

"Yeah, I guess she thought he was insulting him."

"And she tried to break my leg!" Gustav wailed from the floor.

"Actually, she hit him in the knee. Knocked him clean over."

Astrid looked down at her daughter. "What do you have to say for yourself?"

"I do it again. I do it to anyone making fun of Daddy!"

Astrid picked her up. "You and I are going to have a little talk. Oh, and Gustav? Just a friendly bit of advice: stop making fun of my husband, especially when his own daughter is present."

"Yeah, no more mean stuff 'bout daddy!" Solveig interjected. Astrid told her to be quiet.

"He's drunk, Chief," someone pointed out.

"And that's why I gave him friendly advice and not a firm reminder." Astrid growled.

Snotlout, who since his talk with Tuffnut had consumed a fair share of drink as well, slurred out, "Aw, c'mon, Astrid, he's had too much wine. I've had too much wine too. And don't we all like to wine about what ales us?" He burst into laughter as if he had said something funny and clever.

Astrid turned away so Solveig could not see him. "Hookfang, Fanghook, take your riders home and keep them there until they're sober. Now, if you'll all excuse me, I've got to sort a few things out with my daughter."

With that she carried Solveig outside. Toothless wanted to go with them but Astrid flatly told him to go spend some time with Radamar.

As soon as they were out of earshot Astrid ruffled Solveig's hair. "Five years old and already clobbering people? You're a Hofferson all right! And Gustav should've known better than to mock Hiccup when his own daughter was nearby! Well maybe this time he'll have learned his lesson."

"No punishes?" Solveig said in surprise.

"Oh I'll find something for you to do tomorrow. But Toothless was right: I would've done the same to Gustav. I _have_ done the same, many times, to other people. It's a tough world, Solveig, and we girls have to be able to look after ourselves. Few respect us in these parts if we can't hold our own against them."

"Would Daddy be pleased?" Solveig asked eagerly.

"I imagine he'd look angry and be secretly flattered. All the same, Solveig, no more punching people or starting fights without my permission, all right?"

"Mmm,"

She carried her daughter up to Solveig's room, the room that had once been Hiccup's. Clearing the room of items which were no longer needed to make way for an infant's needs had been a very hard experience. Some friends had offered to help, and when Snotlout had suggested they use some of Hiccup's journals to light a fire (he was cold) Astrid had become so grief-stricken she nearly threw him off the landing platform.

Stormfly joined them and announced Gustav and Snotlout were fast asleep in their rooms now, snoring loud enough to annoy a Thunderdrum. They sat down on the bed and Astrid picked a sheet of parchment. First she had her daughter try and read a paragraph out loud.

"Mommy, why do I?" Solveig asked after a few tries. Her reading was decent, though large and unfamiliar words gave her trouble (and there were plenty of those), but she was still pronouncing 'th' like 'f' and Astrid had been constantly correcting her.

"I know it's hard, but you're already better at reading than I was at your age."

"Really?"

"Solveig, only a handful of people in these parts know how to read. Of that handful only a smaller handful are women. So you're already part of a distinguished group."

Solveig looked at her blankly. Astrid mentally slapped herself. Sometimes she forgot she was speaking to a five year old. "I mean you're really special and you're doing really great, sweetie! Now we just need to get you to speak properly. Say 'math."

"Maff."

"No—pretend you're a Terrible Terror and you're hissing at me."

She grinned and curled up. "Mattttth! Mattttth! Hssss!"

Well, it was progress, Astrid thought.

Suddenly Solveig grew bored with the joke and examined the parchment. "What's ttttthis anyway?"

"This is part of what Uncle Fishlegs has written about your father."

Solveig looked delighted. "Daddy's here?"

"No, sweetie, he's…well, this is about his life. Shall we read a little?" They readjusted themselves to be more comfortable.

Astrid read out loud, "'Toothless recalls their time in India fondly, saying that it was here that Hiccup at last began to recover from the events in Spain and got used to his metal leg. This was the first time they'd been in a land where Dragons lived with humans peacefully, and Hiccup's mind got busy. Here he first developed his flight suit and his fire sword, and the ideas for Berk's dragon racing can be traced back to the races Hiccup saw and took part there. While according to Toothless the decision to return to Viking waters to bring peace did not occur until they had been to China, it was in India that Hiccup began for the first time to consider creating a sanctuary for dragons, as well as making a permanent home for him and Toothless. During the difficult years on Berk he had long dreamed of building a new home for himself, someplace where life could be peaceful and happy, and now he saw the chance of turning that dream into reality. The only question was where to locate this new home?'"

Astrid tried to simplify some of this for Solveig's sake, but even with this help a lot of this went over the girl's head and had it not have been about her father she would have stopped trying to understand it. So they skipped a little.

"'To earn money for food and shelter, Hiccup would often offer his services at blacksmith stalls. This also afforded him an opportunity to learn the local dialects first hand, though communication at times caused problems. Hiccup several times unwittingly insulted people, once even calling a Maharajah 'an old frog', and on one occasion insulted a cow, unaware that cows are considered sacred in India. Toothless clearly recalled that occasion, for they had been forced to flee for their lives, not for the first or last time.'"

The humans laughed after reading this. "Daddy upset a cow!"

"Ha! He never told me about that one!" Astrid wiped away tears, "he was a lot more respectful to the locals when we were in journeying to Greenland—clearly he'd learned his lesson!"

"Mommy?"

"Hmm?"

"Why can't Daddy be here now?"

Astrid sighed heavily. "He's dead, Solveig."

"So? When will he be back?"

"He's not coming back."

"Why not? Did you two fight?"

Astrid sent Stormfly to fetch something. "No, Solveig, we didn't fight. I loved your father. I loved him more than I ever got to tell him. And I know he never loved any woman but me."

"Then why?"

Stormfly returned with a rock in her mouth. She set it down on the floor and Astrid said, "Solveig, hit your head on this."

Solveig looked at the rock. "But won't it hurt?"

Astrid smiled slightly. She never liked to think ill of Stoick the Vast, but it seemed her daughter had more sense in her head than he had when he was a boy. "Yes it probably will. Yet some have hit their heads on rocks and cracked them opened. That shows you what a Viking can accomplish. We can conquer mountains, cross seas, settle wild forests, and thanks to your father we can soar through the air. But some have hit their heads and the rocks don't react at all. That shows you that, no matter how hard we try, some things can't be conquered. Death comes for all of us, and there's nothing we can do about it. Your father played with Death many times, and at last Death won. Death always wins in the end." She gently embraced her daughter. "Nobody wanted it to be like this, Solveig, Daddy least of all. But we can't bring him back no matter how hard we might wish it. All we can do is keep going."

Solveig nodded numbly. Astrid's grip on her tightened. "But I know this much, Solveig: for the few hours he knew about you, he loved you, and if he was still here, he would be as proud of you as I am."

They gradually moved onto more cheerful topics that involved Hiccup. Solveig was delighted to hear about one time where Old Mildew, the spectral ogre of every family on Berk, had been rude to Mommy, so the Dragon Riders acquired some bright green and yellow paint and had painted his house in the middle of the night.

"It was Hiccup's idea," Astrid chuckled. "He thought it was more sophisticated and less punishable than Tuffnut's idea to blow the house up."

Solveig had a hard time believing that Gloomy Tuffnut Thorsten, as he was often called by the Berkian children, had once been the most rambunctious and chaos-causing men on Berk. When she expressed this disbelief, Astrid nodded sadly.

"You never knew him before his sister died. In those days, if you wanted to prank someone or have something destroyed, you went to the Twins. The Disciples of Loki. They included Hiccup in that group too on occasion." But she did not tell her daughter everything the Twins had ever done. She did not want Solveig or anyone else getting any ideas!

Gradually Solveig began to yawn. Astrid gently laid her in her bed and, after petting Stormfly one final time, went to her own bed. At least while asleep they could imagine they were with Hiccup on some crazy adventure.

Toothless was still wide awake. He was feeling a flurry of emotions at the prospect of becoming a sire at long last. Thrilled as any sire-to-be would be at imminent parenthood, terrified that he would not make a good sire, and downcast that Hiccup would not be there to see it. Not a day went by where he did not think of Hiccup, and even after five years it still felt wonderful and horribly painful.

He drew closer to the comfortingly warm body of his mate and reflected, if only to distract himself from the prospect of raising his own hatchlings.

The seasons passed through Berk as they always had, yet the village had changed, to the point where the growing youngsters did not even think of the old days at all and the older ones wondered if those days had been just a dream. It felt that way to him sometimes. He had spent over ten years with that boy, watching him change from a little runt to a strong young man, watching him master his fears and insecurities, helping him through nearly every difficult moment, and teaching him what he could about dragons. He had watched the boy who had been as frightened as he was turn into the Dragon King, and he had been there to help him nearly every step of the way. He had seen the boy return to his own tribe and make peace with them and change them in ways that a few years prior had seemed laughable and impossible. Never had Toothless known a better friend and never could he expect to know another, nor did he. And yet, in the course of a single night he had found his brother again and lost him forever.

And even after Hiccup's death, Berk was still living with dragons. Would they continue to? Almost certainly. Would the rest of the world? It was hard to say. It was likely difficult times still lay ahead for humans and dragons but, he glanced at the eggs that held his unborn hatchlings, there was always hope for a better future. Maybe. Sometimes things seemed beyond hope or any chance of getting better, as Hiccup had often thought in his darker moments. Sometimes it seemed that they were doomed to pain and difficulty for the rest of their days. Yet when they had had those thoughts, a pleasant flight had always gotten them to feel some optimism.

Where was Hiccup? Where was Stoick? Where were Grimm and Olaf Hofferson, Spitelout Jorgenson and his own parents? Where was Ruffnut Thorsten? Where were Stormfly's mate and Hatchlings? Where was the Sanctuary that had once been a great nest for Dragons? Where was the Island of Berk that Toothless remembered it to be? They were all gone, gone like the leaves that fall on a day in russet autumn. Nothing but names, deeds, and abstract and changing and fading memories remained of them.

Yet they were not entirely gone, were they? As long as there were people and dragons to think about them, as he thought about his best friend and brother, they were not wholly lost forever.

 **The End**


	42. Chapter 42

October 15, 2017

Authors Note:

At the very beginning, _The Dragon King_ was a three part story. Those three parts were eventually condensed into the first story, with the exception of the scenes of finding Valka in Greenland. The idea for a different sequel was already in my mind when the first _Dragon King_ was being written, but it was not until about October 2016 that the plot for _The Eye and the Alpha_ began to take shape. The first thing written was the death of Adoncia, but it was not until after _The Dragon King_ was finished that the sequel went into real production. And within five chapters I decided the story was not clicking and the plot was little more than a bunch of episodes where the Dragon Riders get captured and somehow escape, which made both sides look increasingly stupid. So I opted to start over.

In some ways this was easier to write than the first story. There were fewer plot alterations this time around, and many of the characters were firmly established. On the other hand, work at times proved hard and tiresome to the point where I started writing new stories just to get a break from it. Reviews were not encouraging either at first, and I grew so discouraged about it I wondered if _The Dragon King's_ success had been accidental. _The Dragon King_ was getting new reviews almost daily and at its height saw nearly 2500 views in a single day. _The Eye and the Alpha_ sometimes never got more than three reviews in a week, and only twice passed 400 views in one day, and those did not happen until the final postings. If it had not been for a few regular reviewers who had stuck around since the beginning, I would probably have cancelled the story. So thank you to those who have been with me for so long, and thank you all for the kind words of encouragement.

So why did I decide to kill off Hiccup? I do not quite know myself how or when that decision came about, but it was not a hasty or last minute idea. Perhaps I did it because as a writer I dislike repeating myself and I want to push boundaries and take bold steps at times. Perhaps I wanted to firmly prevent any possibility of a third story. Perhaps I wanted to make people get emotional. Perhaps it was because I felt Hiccup had escaped Death so much that it was high time Death caught him. Was it unfair? Of course it was! But so much of life is unfair and so many good and innocent people are killed needlessly and prematurely, that perhaps I wanted to use Hiccup as a symbol of such loss and waste. Would I resurrect him or find some way to keep him alive? No. I feel that to change it now would be a huge mistake and detrimental to the story's emotional center, and completely implausible. No, the more I think of it, the more resolute I feel about my choice.

So what next? I suppose some are clamoring for a third story but, while I have considered it many times, I have no real interest in writing one. For one thing, I do not wish to spend another year writing yet another full size book. Writing and revising over 400 pages can be a very exhaustive process and I would like to spend my time on other things. For another, I have no notion of what such a story would be about, and I do not think I would be able to keep a new plotline fresh and interesting. Even with _The Eye and the Alpha_ I was worried that I was just repeating situations and plot elements from the first story. And for another thing: considering that this story never came close to matching the original's success, what reason do I have to expect a third volume would do any better? I do have some unrelated stories in mind which I would like to work on eventually, but frankly, all I want right now is to take a break. I do not say another story will never happen, but for now my mind is firmly decided against such a possibility.

It's been a long and hard road to get this story finished, and now it's equally hard to believe that it's finally done. But it is, and I can think of nothing more to say, except: until next time, whenever that may be.


End file.
